Be Fascinated By The Differences Not Troubled

Takes all types to make up the world. So I’ve been told by my mom, my grandmother, friends, and teachers. We all understand this on some level but because we are generally insular – ignorant of or sometimes uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside of our own experiences and world view, we tend not to have to deal with too many differences.

Where we DO however find major differences within our own circles and daily interactions is in our thinking. It’s not always easy to stand  firmly without being thrown off balance when someone’s thinking seems completely OPPOSITE to our own. We just can’t believe that they would perceive a situation the way they are and because they’re not thinking LIKE us, we become troubled.

I had such an experience this week and when I shared the details with my baby sis she offered …

Be fascinated by the differences, not troubled….

I had a hard time but slowly I could feel compassion slowly trickling out of my initially hard heart – hard in the sense of not wanting to understand or see the other person’s point view in any other way but that they were WRONG and I was RIGHT!

After the conversation I came across something that Dr. Donna Lee says in her book *The Spirituality Trap*

Your story may be different from mine, your philosophy may be different from mine, your beliefs may be different from mine, but I still acknowledge you as a person. I can see that you are a real human being with real feelings. And because of your life experience and your filter, you will have a different perception than what I have, but I do acknowledge that you have a right to your feelings. By having compassion for someone we actually help that person to come out of her darkness and see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you Melanie Hudson for being a light and helping me to emerge from what may have continued to be a very dark space. My experience opened me and expanded my heart enough to be aware that the next time around I can have compassion for someone even if I don’t agree with their point of view.