Freedom and Tolerance

I have a lot of chaotic thoughts revolving around this topic, so I hope I am able to clearly and succinctly express how imperative the truths are involving tolerance.

When I say tolerance, I mean to sum up an ideology of patience and genuine attempts at understanding human beings around us. The world is full of a spectrum of belief systems whether they revolve around religion or the lack of, they are still belief systems that have developed from a lived life, from experiences and struggles of an actual being.

I find it extremely necessary to watch myself in my way of thinking. To never choose to overlook the fact that I don't know everything, nobody knows everything about anything whether it be science, religion, or the “right” way to live. Everybody finds truth and connects with the divinity of humanity differently, and needs to learn different lessons. We are all learning in this journey that we’re all on, and it’s essential for growth to have the perspective that we are capable of learning something from anyone we come in contact with whether it be a CEO who invests in stocks, a religious fanatic who wants to save you, or a street walker who wanders the city asking for spare change. Constantly in my life I’ve tried to stay in this sweet spot of learning from people who are dramatically different from myself. This practice has taught so much about the meaning and purpose of all our lives, but more importantly it’s enabled me to understand human beings on a deeper level, to genuinely love them and appreciate the journey they are on regardless of whether or not it’s the journey I want to be on. When we are capable of walking around searching for those lessons and truth in one another we cultivate respect and love for one another's culture and experience, We validate one another's emotions and perspective; this is so essential for all of us, for if we shun this ideology we lose the part of humanity that makes us beautiful, our ability to love and empathize with one another.

Celebrating differences as well as commonalities I feel is closely related to our ability to learn and be in “the learner” position. Recognizing where our weaknesses lie and trying to be aware of what we don’t know is difficult, but putting ourselves in others shoes brings to light things that we can learn from others, and weaknesses that we can turn into strengths.

With all that said, I do not mean to say filter yourself or the truths you choose to stand for and promote, because our influence on one another is so important and powerful. People need to learn from you as well. That is the whole point! We are here for each other, to learn from one another. But we must be conscientious of how we our conveying our truths. All people deserve respect. We can never possibly understand one another’s perspectives completely, but it's miraculous how putting in an effort to understand one another can cultivate love, change, and growth. This should be our priorities amongst ourselves and when we are interacting with other humans; we must be patient with the small threads we are weaving in our lives and others.

This is my truth, and what I strive to live by, take it or leave it, but please at least have the courtesy of respecting it.