The world is not black and white, it’s all that and more. I love talking to new people every day. I tend to go out of my way to meet and make new friends, I enjoy it so much. And I don’t avoid what people would term ‘polite’ conversation. I’ve always been someone who pushed boundaries and looked to expand my own personal bubble.
I’ve worked hard at this, as I look back on world history and find it bursting at the seams with situations that might have been avoided if ignorance and hate were fought instead of taught.
We like to act like the world has hard definitive and straight edges, that there’s only one way to do things, but that’s not the way nature works. Instead of being black and white, you look around the world and find it is a myriad of colors, and each one has a distinct hue. And that task you hate to do, there’s another, easier way to do it. We need to remember that a system that works for ourselves may not work for another.
We seem to have forgotten that. We seem to have forgotten that our diversity is what makes us strong. We’ve forgotten that the only thing we can control is ourselves and that listening to each other is how we grow.
I had an amazing Turkey Day, but not everyone did. Friends of mine having to fight their families. Others not feeling welcome to their gathering. People just being rude and standoffish. What the hell happened?
It’s like we quit listening to one another, and now we’re all wondering why no one is willing to admit they’re only waiting for their turn to talk.
I didn’t grow up in a diverse family, we’re as white as white can be, but I was raised to be respectful of all cultures and religions. Living in a strongly conservative household, I was encouraged to seek out new faiths and doctrines for living life. I jumped at the opportunity, studying as many cultures as I could. And I learned a lot about the world from studying other religions and societies.
To me, the world was never black and white, and it never will be. Just because you disagree with someone doesn’t mean you can’t love them. We need to stop trying to make people conform to our ideals because forcing our views onto people will never be acceptable.
The thing that upsets me the most is the violence! You get better results with honey than you do with a stick. We all think differently, we should all act accordingly.
But we don’t. Not yet anyways. I’m hoping we get back to that frame of mind as a society. I hope we start to re-open our minds to other people’s thoughts and ideals.
Even if we as a people don’t, I as an individual will. I hope you will join me and #ChooseLove over hate.
And don’t let anyone dim your sunshine! As Ralph Smart says, “You carry your happiness with you.”
Sumo Sized Ginger 