Welcome The Shun

From today’s reading…

How do you respond to greatness? Do you appreciate and celebrate that person for their abilities or do you crawl away and attack them from the shadows?

How do you respond to something you don’t understand? Do you ask questions and seek wisdom or do you ridicule and belittle the person and their ideas?

Abraham Lincoln said “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”

Based on how people reacted 2,000 years ago and today right here online, it seems Lincoln was a rare man indeed.

Today we ridicule, belittle, and attack friends and even family members based on whether or not they recycle, eat meat, the person they voted for, the church they do or do not attend, or even the sports team they support.

How’s that working out for you?

It’s interesting to watch the ebb and flow of humanity…and how we always take a good thing too far.

Social media used to be social.

Now I’d say it’s rapidly moving towards “splintering media” or “segmenting media” and soon we’ll be barely more informed than cavemen who never ventured farther than a half-day’s walk from their cave for fear of death.

We’ll just nestle into our comfortable echo chambers and throw spears and rocks at anyone outside of it.

Maybe you shouldn’t fear the death of your ideas and opinions. (It is wisdom you seek, right?)

Maybe you shouldn’t fear the death of your jealousy and envy. (You do want to be social and sociable, right?)

Maybe you shouldn’t fear being in the presence of greatness, even if it comes from a Republican or a Democrat, a gay or straight person, a vegan or a BBQ award winning chef, even…

…even…even…an Alabama Crimson Tide fan. (That hurt me more than you’ll ever know. GEAUX TIGERS! Okay. I feel better.)

Try something this week.

For an entire week, seek out opinions opposite of yours but do not engage. Just read and observe and seek to understand.

If nothing else treat it as a “know thy enemy” exercise and let me know how you feel after a week.

I bet you’ll feel better in a week, which will help you…

Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.