Our Differences

While I was out working in the garden some this morning, I was thinking. Pulling weeds provides the perfect opportunity for deep thought. No one is talking, the work is nearly mindless, leaving time to contemplate all sorts of things. You are breathing in good clean air as you work and for me, the sounds of nature calm my brain a bit so its not thinking of a million different things at once. Its a meditative experience for me. I was thinking this morning how often when people concentrate on the differences so much more than the "sameness". People in general are very quick to speak about how different they feel than another, which is where conflict is often born. Maybe they feel the need to distance themselves from an opinion, an idea, a concept that is not how they feel and so that is where they concentrate, but what if we put a smaller price on the differences and a higher price on the commonalities ? Instead of hastening to tell someone " I don't agree" or "I think you are all wrong" what if we just let that part go, and thought about the things we do agree on, or the things we hold in common ? There would certainly be less negativity in the heart, less time spent in that hamster cage running over and over the same ground of disagreement with our thoughts. For most of us, it would take some serious retraining our thought pattern. But, I bet it would be worth it. Far fewer bad moods and perhaps fewer regrets of saying things we later wish we hadn't. A great example for children. I don't think we have to always remain quiet about the differences we feel, but I am not so sure we need to vocalize each and every difference. Which way does the scale tip in your heart, heavier on speaking of the differences or heavier on the things shared ? It will say a lot about how others see you when you honestly answer that question. There are times when debate is necessary, I understand that and perhaps a time to share moral and ethical opinions, in order to take a stand, but to just concentrate on the differences all the time creates in our hearts a bit of an angry storm. Looking at our sameness gives us a lighter, more joyful heart.

“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance and none can say why some fields will blossom while others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices no more easily made. And give, give in any way you can, of whatever you posses. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than for how it is shared and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.”

~Kent Nerburn~

Roses kissed with morning dew

a basket of roses on the ground, freshly cut