celebrate differences between people

Barack Obama’s inspiration victory speech included the following:

“It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

Words such as these bring hope that such sentiments will also extend beyond the borders of the USA.

although very worthy to strive for this. I do feel that this is an ideal that I have embraced.

The answer is different for everyone, isn’t it? I think part of any person’s journey in life is to understand more deeply what makes them tick, what stirs their passions, what makes them happy.

Sure, as humans, we all have fundamental characteristics in common. But part of the fun is trying to discover what makes others tick, don’t you think?

It seems that in all things on earth, variety is sought and sometimes even obsessed over…color breeds of horses, shades of blue for roses, no true blue yet, wild day-lilies, butterflies, hens eggs, potatos, but whoa there, not in people? Humans? That’s where some folks’ desire for difference slides to an abrupt halt in a cloud of dust.

You can’t speak MY language? What’s the matter with YOU? So what if I’m the visitor; you should be able to speak my language…how inconsiderate of you.

I live for the day when everyone is judged to be a good or bad neighbor based on their actions, not their parentage or favorite food…when one can smile freely at a stranger and not be taken as weird, on the make, or otherwise a danger.
n.kateus www.mydayjob.net

Hats off to Adam Spencer, host of the breakfast show on ABC Radio 702 in Sydney. On 9th November he will be hosting a special program, The World in Sydney, in which Sydney-siders who hail from many different countries in the world will join together to celebrate Sydney’s ethnic diversity. At last count, people from nearly 100 different countries of origin had registered.

People who are different from me offer many opportunities to learn new things, to see the world from different perspectives. When I stop using my own shoulds and shouldnots to judge others, I receive a ton of blessings in the form personal enrichment and friendships.

I can start to learn to appreciate others who are different by first accepting myself. When I appreciate myself as a human being with many different qualities I can appreciate others as the same.

I think I do this already as I am open minded and accepting of other people just as they are, but I would like to be better. There’s always room for improvement.

We are all born with and develop different strengths and weaknesses. Not only that, we have our good days and bad days. Sometimes there are factors that adverserly affect our ability to perform at our best.

I think it is important to remember this when I am tempted to compare myself with someone else. I find it easy to compare myself unfavourably with others without stopping to recognise that I have different strengths. Conversely there are times when I find myself thinking that I am superior to someone else because I am making a narrow comparison. Again, I should stop to appreciate the other person’s strengths which I don’t have.

So, I say we should celebrate different people’s different strengths. After all, that allows us to help each other.

It must be late in the evening. What follows is a tad philosophical.

One thing that has fascinated me over the years is the variety of belief systems prevalent in different cultures and communities around the world. Some religious beliefs have thousands of years of history and tradition behind them whereas modern secular beliefs tend to be more evidence-based.

Having been brought up to question religious belief rather than adhere to the prevailing Christian tradition of my society and subsequently studied Science and the Philosophy of Science I find it impossible to personally accept faith-based belief systems. And I also think it is important for children to be well educated in how Science can explain many of the wonders of the world rather than allow children to be indoctrinated into the religious belief systems of their parents.

However, I respect the right of everybody to choose their own beliefs so long as they do not hurt others as a direct consequence. There is certainly a wide spectrum of philosophies amongst humanity. My hope is that despite our differences, people can learn to be more at peace with each other.