Some people do things completely
differently from the way you would do them. It does not mean that
they are right or that you are wrong. It means that people are
different. There are things that people say which you would probably
say in a different way, at a different time. It does not mean that
people are wrong to speak up, to speak out, or to speak their minds.
Nor does it mean that you are wrong for choosing not to do so. It
means that people are different.
Different is not right or
wrong. It is a reality. Differences become problems only when
we choose to measure ourselves by our difference in an effort to determine
who is right and who is wrong.
It is not loving, healthy or
necessary to make people wrong for what they do, what they say, or the way
in which they do it or say it. Nor is it self-affirming to feel
wrong when you see things differently, do things in a different way or
express a difference of opinion. All people are different from one
another. Our different points of view shape our vantage point and
our vision. Where we sit is a function of where we have
sat. What we can see is a function of what we
have seen.
No one person's experience, point
of view or view point is more accurate, more acceptable, more righteous
than another. It is simply different. Our differences
sometimes make agreement difficult to achieve. They should never
make us feel wrong. Nor should they lead us to believe that what
others believe is wrong.
Until today, you may have
questioned, opposed, resisted or even detested differences. Just for
today, open your heart. Be willing to embrace different points of
view, different points of view, different habits, different responses,
different opinions and the differences that exist between yourself and
others.
~~Iyanla Vanzant
