APPRECIATING DIVERSITY

How sad it would be if we didn’t live in such a diverse world.  If everyone thought the same, looked the same, believed the same I wonder whether I would ever be challenged to grow or change.  I would perhaps be afraid to be ‘different than’ and conform quickly to the norm.  I wouldn’t have to think about who I am because my identity would already be well defined.  I wouldn’t have to work so hard to understand or relate to you because we would like the same things and look at situations the same way.  There would be consistency, stability, uniformity, and permanence.  I somehow think I would soon find this experience boring, dull, uninteresting and humdrum.   

I much prefer divergent ideas and a variety of values and morals to challenge the limits I place on myself and others.  I enjoy opening my mind, questioning, and listening to different opinions, even if it’s sometimes irritating and hard to be poles apart.  I love the creative energy that emerges when people come together with a willingness to be influenced by one another.   I believe that we all share the same desire to be valued, respected, accepted, and loved.  Today, I choose to expand my heart, embrace difference, and surrender my desire to be right.