Separate but Precious

Day 51 of 365 Tiny Changes

The last few days I have been watching quite a bit of television.  When I watch TV, I   channel flip, looking for that show that really catches my interest. 

I landed on a show that I could only watch a few minutes of, before I just had to move on.  The show was “Wife Swap”.  This reality show takes the mom from one household and switches her with the mom from another household, usually in a completely different part of the country, geographically and economically.  The film crew then follows these women around filming the chaos that ensues.  At the end of the show the wives are reunited with their husbands and the two couples sit down to give each other advise.  This part normally doesn’t go too well.  How dare someone who has actually walked in their shoes and lived their lives for a few weeks, literally, have any suggestions about how things could be done differently.  Oh, the silliness of huge egos.

The episode I landed on had a New Age wife swapped with a Cowboy wife.  What struck me was the husbands.  The New Age husband was a lot different than most of the men I have had experience dealing with, but he seemed to be very open minded about a lot of things.  The Cowboy wasn’t.  The Cowboy was a chauvinist.  I detest chauvinists.  That's when I flipped the channel.

I try not to be judgemental about other people and their beliefs, but I draw the line at male chauvinism, because it is a form of prejudice aimed at women.  

Women and men are both human.  We are built differently, and we think differently, because our use for the continuation of our species is different.  The fact is, we could not complete the job of procreation without  both parties.  Thus we are equally important.  Different but equal.

This phrase, different but equal, has been used in reference to different races, also.  However, the point doesn’t seem to have stuck with most people.  Maybe we need a different phrase that describes more fully that we are all human.  We all have a purpose, and that no one gender, race, or creed, should put themselves above anyone else.

I propose, “Different but Precious.” 

Webster’s defines precious as being valuable, highly esteemed or cherished.  What if we were to look at every other human being as being valuable?  What if we were to hold every other human being with our highest esteem?  What if we were to cherish every other human being?  Just imagine how different our world would be.

Let’s bring the thought closer to home.  What if every day you were to let your family know that you held them as being precious to you?  How would you treat your spouse, your children, even your dog?

I hear you.  You’re thinking how can I hold my family as precious when they argue, fight, and create dirty laundry?  It’s definitely a shift in your thinking.

When you look at your spouse, or child, sleeping, do you get that warm all over feeling?  The feeling that you are so happy that they are a part of your life, and that you don’t know where you would be or what you would do without them?  In that moment, they are precious to you.  You truly cherish them, and know that you would do anything to protect them.

Somehow, you have to capture that feeling, so that you can recall it when you need it.  Like when you’ve just matched and folded your 500th pair of white socks, or when you’ve just cleaned the kitchen and your teenager decides he’s going to create his 6th meal of the day and make a huge mess, that he doesn’t even consider cleaning up on his own.  Those times, when they frustrate you the most, are when you need to be able to recall how precious they are to you.

In my opinion, if we hold someone as being separate but precious, we certainly don’t hold them as being subordinate to us.  We don’t expect them to serve us and put our needs above their own. 

When I hold someone as being separate but precious, I want to encourage them to seek out the things that please them, and give their life meaning.   I want to be supportive of them, while keeping my own identity and life purpose. 

This isn’t easy.  As humans our egos seem to play a huge role in how we see and treat others.  There are examples that we can study and refer to for guidance such as Mother Theresa, Gandhi, The Buddha, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesus, to name a few of the most well known.  You’ll notice they are all dead. 

Who is our current leader in the fight against prejudice and forced inequality?  Is it you?

Does the thought scare you?  Is it because it appears to be such a huge task to end prejudice and forced inequality world wide? 

Well, then don’t think so big.  Think about this moment, right where you are.  Think about the false judgments you hold about other genders, other races, other creeds.  Throw out those thoughts. 

Move forward into the next moment with a new thought, one of equality for all.  A thought that cherishes all of human kind. 

Thoughts become behaviors.  Behaviors have ripple effects.  The more people you treat with love and respect, the more the people who have received your love and respect will treat others with love and respect. 

Changing the world does start with you.  Every belief you hold and action you take has the potential to change the world for the better or for the worse.  It’s your choice.

Do you understand how powerful you truly are?

Tiny Change 51:  Embrace my power and treat others as the precious beings they are.

Best Regards,

Linda

Tiny Blessing of the Day:  I am blessed to live in a country where race, creed, and gender, equality is legislated, if not quite yet lived to fruition.