Religion

Our world is full of people, nearly 7 billion of us. We differ in skin tones body types, religion, political philosophy, culture, tastes, sexual preferences and so many other ways. But, in reality, we are more alike than we are different.

For example, the great religions of the world, as well as the not so great, differ widely in the answers to life’s questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Ask Buddhists Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, Agnostics, Wiccans or Christians, and you will get very diverse answers. Take Christians alone for a moment. There are hundreds of different religions with significantly different doctrines within Christianity: Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, etc. There are even different kinds of Catholics with different answers.

My point is this. What ever our beliefs and no matter how strong we believe them, most of us, if not all of us are WRONG. Since we all differ we can’t all be right, but we could all be wrong.

One thing is for sure though. Wherever we came from, we all came from the same place. If there is a God, which I firmly believe there is, He, She or It is the creator and God of us all. We are all truly of the same generation, brothers and sisters trying to make our way in a hostile world. We all love, fear, hurt, bleed when we are cut, cry, hunger, thirst, crave knowledge, sometimes feel invincible and sometimes feel insignificant. We are all just people; more alike than different.

For the sake of God, whoever or whatever you perceive him, her or it to be and the sake of humanity let’s strive to understand and make room for each other. Let’s be fair and reasonable with each other. Let’s treat each other the way we want to be treated.

I don’t expect Palestinians to love Israelis or vice-versa. But each must acknowledge the other’s right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That goes for ALL of us. The world throws enough hurt, fear and uncertainty our way. Let’s not create more for each other.