Different.

How do you feel when you are different to others?

If you were the only meat-eater in a crowd of vegetarians, or you've never been to Uni and all your friends had and they talked about it all the time, or you want to live by your faith but your friends aren't interested at all.

How do you treat other people when they are different to you?

What if their taste in music was completely opposite to yours, or they were really rich and you were poor in comparison, or their taste in clothes was outrageously ugly in your opinion.

Image from here

The more I think about my friend and family, my workmates and classmates, I realise just how diverse and different we all are. Sometimes the differences are outstanding and challenging. At times the differences can be discouraging, like there is a big divide between us. But I also work hard to remember that the differences are a gift which remind me to think bigger, to consider new alternatives, to change my outlook and to challenge my viewpoints.

And, I continue to work on my value of accepting differences, of celebrating diversity, of valuing alternatives. It's great to be honest and to talk openly about our differences. It's worthwhile to share and listen to why we are different. It's OK to agree to disagree. It's beautiful to receive the gift of someone else's world view. I love that the Gospels in the Bible were all written with different details because each individual had a different world view.

Difference is enriching.