The ushering in of a new year is symbolic, a time for reflection, contemplation, and transformation as many people look back upon the events which took place during the preceding year. Some of these events made headline news around the world. \u00a0And many of these headline news stories sparked heated debates.<\/p>\n
Some of the more controversial happenings placed even the most agreeable minds at odds with each other:\u00a0 George Zimmerman\u2019s acquittal in the\u00a0trial for shooting Trayvon Martin, the release of the activist film against SeaWorld \u201cBlackfish,\u201d the rolling out of Obama Care, the federal government shutting down, Pope Francis\u2019s nontraditional stances, the legalization of gay marriage in many countries and states, and, yes, even the show Duck Dynasty had some time in the spotlight, just to name a few.<\/p>\n
Our planet earth is a magnificently diverse home for all of us.\u00a0 And while it is undeniable that there are plenty of places we could improve on the way we interact with each other and treat each other and support each other, is there also an equal amount of room for us to understand and accept each other on a higher level?\u00a0 Are these hot-topic news stories only controversial because we box ourselves into one way of seeing things and then expect others to see that way, too?\u00a0 \u00a0Do our differences of opinion create change or stifle it?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m just wondering, as we take our first steps into 2014 and think about what we want to accomplish, where we want to go, and who we want to be, if some thought might be given to recognizing that the stories yet untold and the events yet to be experienced will all be heard and experienced through the eyes of differing perspectives and filtered through the data of each individual\u2019s unique past.\u00a0 How might that level of awareness impact the way we communicate with each other? \u00a0The way we create with each other? \u00a0The way we love one another?<\/p>\n
Is life meant to be more of a plain vanilla experience?\u00a0 Are we really trying to get to a place where we all think and act alike?\u00a0 Or are the occurrences in our lives, personally and globally, providing us much larger opportunities here? \u00a0Can we live peacefully and collaboratively within the shifting realm of our differences?<\/p>\n
There are approximately 7,203,608,340 people in the world.\u00a0 And as I write these words, that number continues to expand rapidly.\u00a0 Perhaps the next time life presents us an opportunity to be \u201cright\u201d about something or we feel compelled to assert our knowingness upon someone with a differing point of view, we might consider the possibility that there is not only one side to any given story, nor are there only two sides; there are potentially 7,203,608,340 sides to every story. \u00a0And might it be possible that, ironically, somewhere deep within that complicated kaleidoscope of multifaceted thoughts and feelings and experiences lies the one thing that humanity is longing for:\u00a0 peace?<\/p>\n