Have you ever wondered why we were all unique; why we all have unique identifying information about ourselves that sets us apart from others? We have our own set of abilities, thought processes, likes and dislikes, goals and perceptions. Much of what makes us, us, is our culture, upbringing, and experiences but even within groupings, we still are unique human beings. We can also easily be grouped with others based on certain criteria but will never meet anyone who shares every thought, perception, beliefs, abilities, etc as you have.
I have realized that grouping individuals is the human mind’s way of understanding life. I imagine that in the primitive beginning, there was a male and a female. Both taking inventory on the other and just based on the physical, saw that they were not the same and therefore made it a mission to point out every difference until the other made sense. Sadly we are still working on this categorization…
I think it’s hard to love what is different because of a lack of understanding that gets to the point that some people fear, even hate, what is unlike themselves. How can we love what we don’t understand? My answer is: have an open mind and fall in love with being comfortable in an uncomfortable position. I actually learned this at work this week. Before this lesson, I would make observations and find positive things about something unknown. If I had a question about why someone was wearing a certain something, I would find the beauty in the person or the article of clothing they were wearing and appreciate it. This method still works for me but I think that a great addition is to find comfort in the uncomfortable. Because every person is unique, there is always an opportunity to be in a situation where there is no commonality. Example: The world ends and there are two people left, a sexist man and a young woman. The man may think that she has limited abilities and he has to protect and provide for her because she can’t do it for herself. The woman may think he’s a pig and wants nothing to do with him. Both are missing an opportunity to survive together. The man may see her physical beauty and the woman may see the masculinity in the man but neither may see the beauty of just being comfortable with each other while working out the logistics of surviving as the last. While dwelling on the bad fortune of being “stuck” with each other, they miss the beauty in the silence of the world, the cleaner air without the constant fumes being emitted and more opportunities to rest and relax without the pressures of profit making jobs. This is a simplistic example but just imagine two type of people who have hate for each other. How would that turn out? Not so great!
Back to my original thought… As a Christian, I can only write this from that point of view so I apologize to folks that may not get the full picture.
Some folks say that we are to be Christ-like; To emulate what Jesus did, hence the “What would Jesus Do?” movement. What most people fail to see is that an imitation of a person, Christ or not, is a form of idol worshipping and if I can recall correctly, Christianity is against idol worshipping. So my thought is, we are not called to be Christ-like, but be Christ in our own right.
Hear me out…
In the world today, where so many people find it easy to stereotype, fear and hate what is different, what would Jesus do? I think in every uncomfortable situation, we need to ask that simple question and search for the answer, which would most likely be a peaceful, non-judgmental answer, and handle uncomfortable situations in our own peaceful way. It is impossible for any of us to be like Jesus or any other leaders. We need to be ourselves and handle our lives like only we can do– in our own way. We need to love unconditionally, even when we don’t understand. Be yourself, love yourself and you will love others.
Look Within 