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Today's
quotation:
If
we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting
values,
we must
recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities,
and so
weave a less
arbitrary social fabric, one in which each
diverse human
gift will find a fitting place.
Margaret
Mead
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Today's
Meditation:
"Will find a fitting place." I think we're
getting there. The process has been agonizingly slow
to witness, and I know that we won't arrive at this point
before I finish my time on this planet, but I do believe
that we as humans are becoming more accepting of
differences, that we are more accepting of people who are
very different than we are (except perhaps in politics,
but that's a different story).
Each one of us, of course, has been created as a
completely unique individual. We each have our
strengths and our weaknesses, our talents and our areas in
which we have little to no talent at all. That
uniqueness is what could make our societies extremely
strong, for then we can find people to fill every need,
instead of relying on people of only one race or only one
gender to try to take care of everything. That's how
we used to do things, isn't it? Important jobs in
our society went to the white males. Differences
were shunned or outright rejected, because we knew that
the white males could do the best job because they were
the best educated.
People who believed that, though, were wrong. Our
goal, I think, should be to see each other as simply human
beings who are on this planet doing the best they can to
survive and to thrive. When we see each person as
simply a person--not a black or a white person, not a gay
or a straight person, not a native-born or an immigrant
person-- then we can allow everyone else to thrive and to
contribute their unique gifts and their uniqueness to the
world.
And we would all thrive because of it. Our
communities would be stronger because when we accept each
other, we have little need for suspicion or bias or
prejudice. When we allow everyone to contribute
equally to our communities, the strength behind the
community-- the fabric that holds it all together-- is
much, much stronger, and much more resilient. I
sincerely hope that someday, we'll all be accepting of
others just as they are, and we'll allow them to share
their gifts freely and fully, strengthening us all.
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