Having listened to others (you DID find new people to listen to, didn’tcha?) what have you learned?
Did you learn that others aren’t as different as you thought? That others have the same cares and concerns that you have? That others, like you, are trying to make their way through this life the best way that they can?
Did you learn that people are people, with common experiences and worries, hopes and dreams, problems and roadblocks?
Did you learn?
I trust that you are using what you have learned to help you befriend more people. You see, as John Kennedy said, “Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”
How does that reality color your interaction with people? Do you believe this, or do you think that there is something special and unique about yourself, something that no one else has experienced, something that makes you better than “them”?
If life is a common experience, and there is truly “nothing new under the sun,” as it states in Ecclesiastes 1:9, how will you use your experiences to help others to make it through this life? How will you allow the experiences of others to help you? How will you engage with people in a new way, an open way, a kinder way, in order to share life together?
How will you make a lasting and genuine difference, today, in the lives of those around you?
This is real community, real family, real LIFE.
