I stopped watching the sensationalized news years ago. Unfortunately, there is no escaping the onslaught of the despicable and their fallacious or malicious ways. I am perfectly fallible ambling through life hoping and trying not to be. Is there any other way? We all make mistakes and I have made my share. Like slippery ice on the sidewalk that sneaks up on you before you realize you are already on the ground writhing in pain.
Sometimes I don’t see the ice. Other times I see it glistening from miles away but keep walking in that direction. What draws us to the wrong direction? Hope or Hate? Hope that we might be able to sidestep the ice in the distance. Or hate for the ice and whoever the ‘F’ put it there. Both choices lead us down the wrong path but one teaches us how to avoid slipping in the future while the other perpetuates the inevitable. It’s clearly out of our control and someone else’s ‘F’ing problem not mine.
How did we become incapable of self reflection, critical thinking, objective decision making and most importantly, loving thy ‘F’ing neighbor?! If you could walk 10 feet beyond every choice you made before you actually took the steps, would you? Is your opinion or action really that important if the hurt it projects, real or perceived, not only crushes your audience but chips at your own soul?
As the daughter of a political refugee, I was exposed to different cultures, ethnicities and skin colors through a lens that projected everyone as equals. I guess, when you have fought for your freedom and have walked in other’s shoes judgement is irrelevant and unnecessary. At the time, I didn’t realize the value of my father’s worldly ways and the broader exposure it supported. A true gift lived by example.
As I grew older, I witnessed the contradiction to this gift as it shed a bright and luminous light on the consequence of our collective actions, good and bad. How did we become a collection of diversity now needing to be like everyone else? Why do we kill people that don’t share our beliefs? Why do we kill children before they can form theirs’? Why do we reach for a gun instead of objective reflection? Critical thinking with a serving of rational understanding in the name of acceptance for why your opinion matters. A simple recipe best served without a measuring cup.
Can’t we just agree to disagree? I saw somewhere recently that anger will shorten your life by 15 years. Hmmm, die early or be happy and kind. Not much of a stretch there. Life would truly suck if we stood as mirror images of each other. Qualities that are different and unique are the antithesis of ambiguity for a reason. Why be ambiguous or indifferent when you can stand proudly in your spoken or unspoken individuality without risk of retribution.
The project, Marlo Thomas and Friends message of inclusion from 1972 coined the simplicity of coexisting amid diversity Free to be You and Me. The 21st century version re-sung by Sara Bareilles in 2020 is linked below. Check it out!
Expanding our horizons is not about clearing the trees, rather seeing the beauty among and beyond them. You be you and I will be me. Embrace the ugly, different and outspoken the same way you might hug your puppy after he took a runny, messy poop all over your new living room rug.
Compassion and Empathy for All! #CEforAll
