If we look at the differences between us and use those to exclude someone from our association, to judge another as less than ourself in some way, to put another in an ID-stamped unexplored box, then we have lost sight of the Truth of Life . . .
no battle is as important as the one I have with myself,
the battle to view my thoughts objectively with as many filters turned off as possible,
to do unto others as I would have them do to me.

Can we start with what we have in common?
Just for a moment,
can we consider the “simple” pieces of the puzzle?

• we are all human beings
differences: how we came into existence has multiple stories

• we all have basic physical requirements for water and food
differences: culture/ethnicity may define what we choose
as acceptable

• we are all governed by internal beliefs that
set our standards
differences: God/gods, philosophy, morals develop from
many factors

• we all view life filtered through our biases
differences: family history, experiences, stories of others
set our biases that we rarely question or examine closely

• we all need a “safe place” where
-we think others are “like” us so we “fit in”
-we are accepted for who we are
-we can express our thoughts without fear
-we can find mentors willing to guide us
without condemnation
-we can find those who can help us sort through
the growth processes of living on this earth
differences: clothing/uniform; hairstyle; language/passwords;
member status

With all the terrorism in our world, with all the hatred spewed for no important reason, with the predominant view that anyone different than me is my enemy . . . cannot we not see that the ONLY answer is LOVE.

Yes, it feels like the right response to hatred is hatred and we want to respond to violence with violence—BUT that only causes hatred and violence to grow, it’s self-perpetuating. To disrupt the cycle of hatred and violence, we must introduce the only thing that heals the deepest wounds . . . LOVE! What we all want, unconditional Love! Oh yes, the cost can be very high and, in the short term, sometimes it looks like it isn’t working, but in the long run, it does.

It doesn’t make sense . . .
but IT WORKS!!! LOVE, unconditional LOVE!
Do unto others as I would have them do unto me!