(Frozen water on the side of a mountain in Tennessee)

Everyone differs in some area or another. It’s a part of life. We have different ideas, different priorities, different perspectives. It’s a basic concept, I know.

But, somehow, some people seem to miss the insignificance of it.

Differing in our ideas, priorities, perspectives, is not a bad thing. It gives the world depth, broadens our understanding of love, and allows us to become better than we would be if we all thought the same way. It also lacks permanence.

When you look back on your life, how often would you say your understanding grew in certain areas? You thought you knew or understood something, only to find out later that you were completely wrong.
I mean, it’s okay. You called it ‘growing up’ or ‘maturing’ or ‘naivety’ or whatever, and you let it slide.

It’s fascinating to see people who are deeply entrenched in a certain way of thinking. They seem to interpret every different interpretation of life as a judgement on their own way of thinking.
When we do this, we miss the point.

We have so much grace for ourselves, allowing ourselves to grow and change our minds without condemning ourselves. But when we meet others who have radically different ideas, we can’t stand them. We disagree and so we cannot be around them.

How small-minded this is.

You don’t have to change your own opinion about something just to get along with another human being. We can agree to disagree, and skate around certain topics. We can give grace to each other and to ourselves, give room to admit that, later, we might find that one of us was indeed wrong.

And it’s definitely okay to be wrong. We don’t have to be afraid of that. Wrongness is not a lack of value.

Who do you disagree with, and why?
Can you set aside these differences?

People are people, valuable and wonderful no matter where they stand.