It's the Differences...

Good Morning and Welcome to a Special Holiday Edition of the Weekend Update...


Man that sounded like something from a news broadcast...

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I am really enjoying seeing my writing going out to people and I hope that it is making a difference...

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Enough said on this stuff...

Every year on this day...I am taken back to a dinner discussion that I had with my family...

It was not as earth shaking to them as it was to me...but I still go back to it...because it changed my life! SERIOUSLY...

Because it was Martin Luther King Day...we were talking about the significance of recognizing him...

The kids were all talking about how prejudiced the world was prior to and during those turbulent times...and how he stood for equality...

...in and of itself...it was a wonderful conversation...that really seldom happens across the nation...at dinner tables...so I was really enjoying the moment...

"The kindergartener" had sat rather quiet...which was strange...

Then she said this...which still rings in my ears...

"At school the teacher told us that we should be spending our time looking for things that we have in common with each other...that just doesn't make sense to me...some people just don't have anything in common with others...when you look the way that people normally look...and that is OK..."

"When I thought about it...it is the differences that matter!"

"What do you mean?" I asked...

"What is different between me and you...is exactly the same as what is difference between you and me..." she responded...

"It is the differences between us...that we have exactly in common..."

"That's where we need to begin..."

My jaw dropped. She was right!

At first I thought she was just mimicking some words that she heard...or stumbled accidently upon some brilliant thought...so I questioned her fully on this concept...she fully explained to me what she meant...this came from her heart and mind...and it made a difference in mine too!

In ancient religious and epic texts there are stories of cultures striving to create absolute commonality. The story that is most often quoted is the "Tower of Babylon." The people who all spoke a single language sought to build a tower to touch the gods...He (God) did not take kindly to that effort...and destroyed the tower and "diversified" their languages during the fall of the tower...

The message that I derive from this story is that it is futile to try to effect change through commonality...and this is purported to be a critical element of change...

"It is the differences between us that we most have in common..."

This can be our greatest enemy or our greatest asset!

Embracing diversity...can be a major waste of time...

As much as wasting time...looking for commonality...

Deeply embedded in either effort...are the seeds of prejudice...

Indifference to those things is the most powerful safeguards to the destructive power that this evil holds...

"It just doesn't matter..." should be the cry...and getting about the real business at hand is what matters...

Interesting thoughts!

Another interesting thought that I had today is about the significance of holidays...

Each holiday carries a significant meaning...

Like today...standing against destructive prejudices...for example...

If you take the holidays in sum total...each has some underlying and significant importance...

Each should be personally important to you...

"What event in your life...can you celebrate that shows that you have added this important character trait to the fabric of your being?" should be asked...

If you can not cite one..."What are you going to do to make that day personally significant?"

That thought too has changed my life...

As I mentally list each holiday and the legendary trait of an individual or individuals that it celebrates...I ask myself..."Do I possess that trait?"

"Do you?"

"Are you striving to add those legendary human qualities to your fabric?"

"I am trying"

Enough said!

Have a great holiday!

Enjoy the time...

Make a Difference!