I have been incredibly blessed in my life when it comes to friends. I am grateful for them on a hundred different levels... for their support and encouragement, their words of comfort, their acts of kindness, their opinions and willingness to share them, their passions and commitments, their intelligence, their eloquence, and ultimately their motivation of me to be a better person.
I am also grateful for the ways, both great and small, in which they are truly different from me.
I am most grateful for the last because I believe this wholeheartedly-
If I surround myself, or associate myself, with only those people who are exactly like me (believe like me, think like me, look like me, understand like me)... how will I grow? It is the challenging of my current understanding of things that helps me to strengthen my foundation of beliefs or to correct my course if I find that my actions aren't lining up with who I claim to be, whether in word or thought or belief.
In the first post of this reboot I said:
"Too often in the world around us we are inundated by the prevalence of a "you either agree with me or you're the enemy" attitude. It is amazing to me how threatened people become by someone who fails to see the "right" of their way of thinking. If my faith, convictions, opinions, or understanding of things is upset by anyone who doesn't share the same... the problem lies with me."
I honestly believe that the inability any person has to listen to another's point of view is reflective of their own foundational instability. Because hearing a different perspective is only a threat if I am unsure of my own position or the reasons for holding it.
Not that long ago I was accused of being very prideful, full of myself, and thinking that I knew it all. That I see and hear only what I want and criticize everything else. I don't think that's true. I also think that person hurled each of those accusations because I had the audacity to provide a line of reasoning that ran counter to their own. I told them that I disagreed with their evaluation of me but thought that even if all of it were true, their pointing it out was most definitely a situation of the pot calling the kettle black. (They didn't seem to take that well. A post about which, I assure you, I'm looking forward to writing in the future).
Please don't misunderstand. I am not asking anyone to hear another's position so that they then give up their own. But I am asking each of us to be compassionate in the recognition that other thoughts and opinions out there are just as valid, just as well reasoned, just as experientially motivated as our own. I am asking all who will to join in conversations as I express my opinion on all kinds of upcoming topics, some of which are bound to be controversial, intended or not. Help me, and others, to see issues from different perspectives. Our ultimate positions may never change but it's my earnest hope that we can, in some small way, help to stop seeing each other as enemies over any number of political, social, or religious beliefs.
I can recognize your position, and the reasoning for it, without having to concede my own. If I can't, then I'm not grounded enough in my own belief to start with.
"Too often in the world around us we are inundated by the prevalence of a "you either agree with me or you're the enemy" attitude. It is amazing to me how threatened people become by someone who fails to see the "right" of their way of thinking. If my faith, convictions, opinions, or understanding of things is upset by anyone who doesn't share the same... the problem lies with me."
I honestly believe that the inability any person has to listen to another's point of view is reflective of their own foundational instability. Because hearing a different perspective is only a threat if I am unsure of my own position or the reasons for holding it.
Not that long ago I was accused of being very prideful, full of myself, and thinking that I knew it all. That I see and hear only what I want and criticize everything else. I don't think that's true. I also think that person hurled each of those accusations because I had the audacity to provide a line of reasoning that ran counter to their own. I told them that I disagreed with their evaluation of me but thought that even if all of it were true, their pointing it out was most definitely a situation of the pot calling the kettle black. (They didn't seem to take that well. A post about which, I assure you, I'm looking forward to writing in the future).
Please don't misunderstand. I am not asking anyone to hear another's position so that they then give up their own. But I am asking each of us to be compassionate in the recognition that other thoughts and opinions out there are just as valid, just as well reasoned, just as experientially motivated as our own. I am asking all who will to join in conversations as I express my opinion on all kinds of upcoming topics, some of which are bound to be controversial, intended or not. Help me, and others, to see issues from different perspectives. Our ultimate positions may never change but it's my earnest hope that we can, in some small way, help to stop seeing each other as enemies over any number of political, social, or religious beliefs.
I can recognize your position, and the reasoning for it, without having to concede my own. If I can't, then I'm not grounded enough in my own belief to start with.
-Erika
I love this quote by Thomas Jefferson:
"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend." - written to William Hamilton, April 22, 1800
I love it first, because I share the sentiment, and second, because it was written to a friend in response to his pointing out the "appearance of neglect" from Jefferson. I am that friend who has questioned my position when left to think too long without affirmation. As such, I appreciate the reassurance Jefferson offers.
So what is my vision in case I didn't spell it out as clearly as I hoped?
That you will help me to facilitate open and respectful conversations through sharing your unique perspectives in comments and responses to others.
Why? Why would I ask for something like this on a blog about pursuing health and wellness? Because I recognize that my individual mental, emotional, spiritual, and social health and wellness is impacted by those of our world at large. And our world could use a lot of work. Work that starts with the willingness of even a few of us to hear each other out.
This vision is the impetus behind the tag I put on each post and have placed at this end of this page as well:
Why? Why would I ask for something like this on a blog about pursuing health and wellness? Because I recognize that my individual mental, emotional, spiritual, and social health and wellness is impacted by those of our world at large. And our world could use a lot of work. Work that starts with the willingness of even a few of us to hear each other out.
This vision is the impetus behind the tag I put on each post and have placed at this end of this page as well:
________________________________
Thank you so very much for taking the time to stop by my blog! I sincerely hope that you got at least some small measure of food for thought in whatever you read.
Please know that I welcome any words of encouragement, confidence and solidarity you might have, as well as any comments with your questions, your disagreement, your challenging of my heart and mind to consider different perspectives, understand novel beliefs, and dispel ignorance wherever possible.
My only asks are that you are constructive in any criticism, considerate of everyone's right to their own opinion (no matter how mind-boggling their reasoning might seem to you) and courteous in your interactions with myself and any other commenters on this blog.
Intolerance for another's views, abusive language, or descent into personal attacks of any nature will result in comment removal.
No comments:
Post a Comment