Not long ago, my brother reflected on our relationship...to each other and to life. He referred to himself as "mile wide and inch deep" and to me as "inch wide and mile deep." What a perfect analogy -- no right, no wrong, no judgment. Our differences serve us well. Acknowledging and honoring our differences makes it possible to learn from each other.
A few days later, I saw a "Peanuts" cartoon. Charlie and Lucy were standing on the deck of a cruise ship. Ever the philosopher, Lucy was explaining that there are two types of people: those that sit at the back of the ship so they can see where they've been; and, those that sit at the front of the ship so they can see where they're headed. Charlie's response was that he seems to spend most of his time just trying to get his deck chair open. Those three approaches to life probably sum up the population of the planet. Oh...except for the "mile deep" folks. We spend quite a bit of the journey searching for wood from a sustainable forest, making our own deck chairs, and then miraculously maneuvering them up into the crow's nest for a panoramic view.
It doesn't matter how wide we are or how deep. It doesn't matter if we're sitting at the back of the ship, at the front of the ship, still setting up our deck chair or are up in the crow's nest. We matter. We all matter. We all are different in such magnificent ways...each a unique piece of the puzzle that fits together to make the whole...world...better.
May today be a day of acknowledging, honoring and learning from our differences.
A few days later, I saw a "Peanuts" cartoon. Charlie and Lucy were standing on the deck of a cruise ship. Ever the philosopher, Lucy was explaining that there are two types of people: those that sit at the back of the ship so they can see where they've been; and, those that sit at the front of the ship so they can see where they're headed. Charlie's response was that he seems to spend most of his time just trying to get his deck chair open. Those three approaches to life probably sum up the population of the planet. Oh...except for the "mile deep" folks. We spend quite a bit of the journey searching for wood from a sustainable forest, making our own deck chairs, and then miraculously maneuvering them up into the crow's nest for a panoramic view.
It doesn't matter how wide we are or how deep. It doesn't matter if we're sitting at the back of the ship, at the front of the ship, still setting up our deck chair or are up in the crow's nest. We matter. We all matter. We all are different in such magnificent ways...each a unique piece of the puzzle that fits together to make the whole...world...better.
May today be a day of acknowledging, honoring and learning from our differences.