What do people do in their spare time? Usually, if it is just a few minutes most people check their social media. Every few days or so it seems there is a new “challenge” for people to try.

One of the latest challenges is called the mannequin challenge. In this challenge, a group of people pause what they are doing while another person films what was going on at that exact moment. Imagine some of the scenes a person may see played out. Some of these challenges are funny, lighthearted, and depict images of everyday life.

Other ones, however, paint a very different picture. Some of them show moments that will go down in history and shape our future, such as Black Lives Matter protests, anti-Trump protests, and images of police brutality. These types of challenges document images of what society currently looks like, and how we are shaping future generations by the way we think and react to situations

At first glance, this is just a silly challenge done by young people messing around.

The question here is; is this just the latest craze or is there something more to be said here? Are these people just being silly or is this a wakeup call? Actions speak louder than words, and perhaps, by pausing for a few seconds the participants of this challenge are saying: stop, look, think, feel, react! A change is needed.

It is easy to see where changes are needed when people take the time to look at the world around them. The point of this challenge is to encourage people to do exactly that.

When time stops for just a second, the things a person may see or encounter are endless. Imagine all the things that you can see in a moment of frozen time. An argument erupting out of control, a protest starting, a person being shot, a drug overdose, pollution, theft, spilled milk, a birthday wish, a holiday gathering.

The possibilities are endless, but, when paused, there is so much insight to be gained from these moments.

People may learn something entirely new, or they may see things from a different perspective when they stop and look closely at these moments. And maybe when forced to take a moment and focus, on the world they are living in there will be less judgment and selfishness, and more understanding and acceptance of others, one can only hope something can be learned or gained by this.

Many of these challenges depict some of the scary and negative things currently dividing us. One of which is that now more than ever a person must be in a certain group or fit a certain stereotype to be accepted.

It seems that every group out there has a point it is trying to make There are the B.L.M. (Black Lives Matter) people, the victims of domestic violence, the families and children of relatives that have passed from drug overdose, the political ones, and so on and so forth and even the groups that just seem to be having fun.

It is quite clear that each one of these social groups has a strong message that it feels needs to be heard and validated.

There is also the possibility to do this challenge in a way that offers the opportunity to capture the beauty of everyday life, something that is so often forgotten in today’s world. Such as family laughing and enjoying a picnic, taking a dog for a walk, viewing nature and all its glory.

No matter how a person interprets or encounters this new challenge, one thing is for sure. Capturing and freezing the beautiful moments in life each day, like living, breathing pictures would mean more than words can express to the individuals who encounter these moments.

These are the moments that tell a person’s story and create a lifetime of memories. Children are not young forever; loved ones won’t be here forever, and ice cream melts. Perhaps, if more people took the time to do the challenge in this light and see more of the beauty and joy in life, the separation between groups wouldn’t be so vast and the differences would seem smaller.

It has been established that for the individuals participating in this challenge, no matter the cause, the point is to pause for a minute to look and see. This challenge has a lot of people looking and seeing, but for many people there is a lot more to it.

The act of inspecting something and analyzing what it means gets a lot of people to dig deeper and to look into the real meaning of what is being shown. It gives time for thought and refection. This causes questions to be raised. Asking questions leads to possible answers, and actions. Actions lead to changes and outcomes.

These are all things people of today need given the current social climate. Perhaps, that is the meaning behind this challenge. It is not meant to be some silly new craze.

It is a cry for help and a moment of clarity from all walks of life in society. It is meant for people to stop and focus on not just the good, bad, ugly, unfair, scary, corrupt, confusing, and crazy moments witnessed every day, but to realize changes need to be made. This is society’s call to action for people to realize the groups that divide us do not help each other, nor do they define who the person sitting next to someone is.

This challenge is meant to get people to realize they need to stop, think, analyze, and reflect on the world around them. It is a call to action for humanity to figure out where to go from here, how to make the necessary changes, how to break down barriers and move forward.

It is society pleading with itself to stop the anger, hate, violence, drug abuse, destruction, corruption, selfishness, judgment, ignorance, and carelessness, and to start making positive changes to start enjoying the peace, love, acceptance, and quality of life here on earth as human beings.