There are, give or take a few, some 7 billion people living on this planet right now. That’s a staggering number if you stop to think about it.
Even more staggering, for me, is the knowledge that each and every one of us is unique. There are no two identical sets of fingerprints or identical DNA compositions.
Is this something we should curse or celebrate?
[box type=\”shadow\”]“Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special and always significant and remarkable point at which the world\’s phenomena intersect, only once in this way, and never again.”
— Hermann Hesse[/box]
Lack of tolerance
If you think about it, a great deal of the strife that we experience in this world is caused by the lack of tolerance of different opinions, affiliations, cultures, looks and/or behaviours.
But if each one of us has a totally unique DNA make up, then why should anyone be surprised or bothered about the fact that different people are likely to have different thought patterns, likes, dislikes and views about life?
Surely, our individual uniqueness is something not just to be tolerated but to be celebrated. Just imagine a world of seven billion individuals, all of whom are the same?
Pretty judgemental
And yet, we humans are by nature, a pretty judgemental lot. We can be quite scathing about those who fail to conform to our own ideas about how people should look, speak, think and behave.
Of course, we have been endowed with the precious gift of free will so we are at liberty to associate with those who are likeminded or those who fit certain boundaries that define what we find to be palatable or unpalatable.
The security blanket of sameness
But sometimes we retreat into the comfort of the security blanket of sameness rather than risk exploring the wonder that is the uniqueness of others and the amazing kaleidoscope of variety that this presents to us.
A conformist culture
Our uniqueness, is not always appreciated – and seldom celebrated – thanks to the commercially-driven, conformist culture that we have built. Yet, it is that very uniqueness that makes this world such an exciting place to live in.
By recognising, encouraging and harnessing our own uniqueness and the unique qualities of others, we can achieve far more and do it in a way that is infinitely more fulfilling.
Practise a little adventurousness
To benefit fully from the richness of experience that is on offer to us, we need to go beyond practicing tolerance. We need to open our minds and practise a little adventurousness. We can start by reconsidering how we perceive of ourselves and then look to change the way we interact with others.
By learning to respect, love and embrace what it is that makes us unique and how that shapes our contribution to this world, we will start to recognise and appreciate this in others.
Find and exploit the value
Then, instead of looking for differences to criticize, we might look to find and exploit the value in those differences so that life becomes richer, more productive, more fulfilling and more meaningful.
I think it’s time to celebrate. Because …
I am uniquely me – and you are uniquely you!
Life is not worth living if you cannot share it with someone. Lonelyness is the destructor of that which is worthwhile living for
Not connecting with someone or something is like talking to yourself and not hearing it.
Thanks for the share!
Nancy.R
Everything always starts with yourself hence the saying:”Become the world you want to live in”. Besides that, wouldn’t it be boring, if we were all the same? Becoming an observer of all the uniqueness around us, makes life interesting and inspiring.
Live and let live!
Love
Marion
Thanks for using the time and effort to write something so interesting.
My site:
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I cannot remember the exact words used but Michelangelo saw the Angel in the stone and carved her out to set her free. There is an Angel in all of us, if we take the time to carve him/ her out. I like Arjan’s words, sounds a bit like Rumi – what we like in others is inside us and that also goes for what we don’t like. But i think when we come to love our weaknesses, we are able to offer the same to others. And this is when we are lifted.
Great blog Bill – thanks muchly.
Some lovely thoughts, Lisa, thank you.
I am I and you are you
And we are both eachother too.
A simple example: Many years ago, I experienced how approximately 160 soldiers pulled into a “ghost” town to set up a waiting area. Nothing worked, but within two weeks, there was electricity, water, natural food, you name it and even a newspaper. This wasn’t done with official provisions. No, everyone had something to contribute. Plumbers, electricians, cook, hunters, builders, etc, etc., did what they could. After those two weeks people already started moving back to the town. The baker was the first to return and needless to say, a view days later, his business started “booming”. If this can be done by 160 men, just imagine what 7 million can do.
Thank you for this reminder Bill, just wish more people can read it and make it their own.
Great example – thank you.
Tolerance is an area in this world that would take our lifetime and beyond to achieve. Christians, Jews, Muslims to mention a few have very little tolerance when it comes to their religions and for this reason spiritul bases (countries) are in place for this. Yes, within the groups there is the extremists (no tolerance) that will blow peope up to force their views down on others. Then we come to the “I am good looking or I am the model etc and their is no tolerance to thos ethey view as “ugly’ So they are clicky and shows are held run mainly by those that view themselves to be pretty or good looking and so on.
More time should be spent on promoting areas like the world soccer cup to bring people together.