We're Not So Different

We think it feels better to dislike people and groups who on the outside seem to be so different from us. It can feel much more self affirming to sit in judgement of those whose ideals don’t align with our own. It is hard to scoot in close and ask hard questions and receive answers we weren’t expecting. I know this because I also find myself sitting in judgement of others, I feel it is easier to make assumptions than to let my guard down and lean in. Right now our communities are finding themselves in the midst of a judgmental war zone, and I’m writing this with the knowledge and self reflection that I’m not immune or innocent in my participation. What I can say is that when I let my guard down and took the judgement and separation out of the mix I was able to look through a lens of love. When I began seeing the people who are first glance appear so different through a framework of one being they became human once again.