If you only surround yourself with people who are just like you, I hate to tell you this, but not only will your life be much less interesting, your personal growth will be limited as well...on the other hand, being able to embrace and respect people who are different from you requires an open mind and a big heart. I was reminded today that not everyone has the capacity for that...
One of my dearest friends is the original wild-eyed, feminist, artsy, organic, liberal, barefoot hippie child...she wears birkenstocks, researches everything, has her babies at home, burns a lot of sage, has a smaller carbon footprint than most, and knows of an herbal tea or tincture for every ailment under the sun and the moon. She's also wicked smart, funny as hell, a wonderful, devoted mom, and has one of the purest hearts I've ever encountered...and man, do I love her!
That said...I do things differently. Where she dives in deep, I wade along the edges. I sit near the middle and lean to the left. She goes to sit-ins and rallies for the greater good. While she rides her bike to work in the summer, I sit in my Civic with the A/C on high. She nurses her babies well into their second year, while I crawled across the 12-month finish line and immediately handed my daughter a cup of organic cow's milk as I poured myself some wine. I probably wouldn't have a baby at home--or at all, really--but I would adopt a half dozen if I could support them. While she would home school in a New York minute, I feel strongly about my kids going to public school and being taught core subjects by others, even though my background is in education. With them, I'd rather save my energy for teaching more important life lessons...she would have no trouble doing both! And while I am constantly in awe of her resourcefulness and ability to create--well, everything--from scratch, I continue to buy chemical-laden deodorant and hope that I one day get around to trying her recipe.
And although many of our ideas dovetail, there are many things we don't quite see eye to eye on, and it's okay. For example, I go to church, rather enthusiastically...while her spirituality takes on an entirely different form. I am more traditional in many ways when it comes to wellness, (though I feel that Americans are overmedicated in general) whereas she takes a much more alternative approach.
Here's the kicker: just because I don't share all of her ideas doesn't mean I don't respect them. It doesn't mean I'm not interested in them. It doesn't mean I think she's wrong for not doing it "my" way. It just means we're different.
Different is good.
Embrace it.
Respect it.
Aretha Franklin - Respect [1967] (Original Version): http://youtu.be/6FOUqQt3Kg0
(Thanks, D, for letting me use you as an example. Obviously, you're not the only friend with whom I share significantly different ideas at times. You were just on my mind today!)
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