Volume 51 Issue 3 -March 2013 : Reality Hub

Have you ever found yourself looking at another human being and qualifying yourself as better looking, more fashionable, better groomed, more intelligent and so on?

Have you at any moment in time shrugged your shoulders at a stranger who just happened to say ‘hello`` or even twisted your nose at someone who went aboard the same taxi as you, who may have had a rather unpleasant smell that you felt could rub off easily?

In the course of us acknowledging our distinct differences to other people, we need to always remember to find common ground.

When we find ourselves in uncomfortable spaces with people who in one way or another make us uneasy or overly conscious of ourselves in comparison to them …we have to be careful how we feel and what we think..Most importantly…. how we respond!

I was privileged to stay in Molepolole for a few months during an internship programme, and I was at the front desk at a certain organization this one time and a mentally disturbed woman, who is well known in that area, who unbeknown to me at the time frequented that organization.

She happened to come into my space and sat there with me, she was loud and I was afraid of what she might do to me…I didn`t sneer at her….or disregard her in any way.

I was uncomfortable around her, but I saw her as a human being….someone DESERVING of everything good…..someone UNDESERVING of the pitiful stares and ugly remarks from onlookers who poked fun at her peculiarity.

Despite my discomfort I was gentle towards her, I smiled and treated her as such…. not forgetting that we both are equally human.

No one`s perfect…we find ourselves unintentionally ‘judging ‘ others, having certain thoughts and saying certain things or responding in one way or another…unintentionally or otherwise!

That is why it`s important to guard your heart and be mindful of your thoughts, don`t give ugly thoughts the limelight to flourish and multiply in your head.

Be cautious of what you think and how you react to circumstance.

We are different…. I acknowledge that, but one thing we should never forget as we walk this earth, is to treat other people as such…no matter how different.

From the cleaner who scrubs the public toilet, to the tax collector and the CEO at a prestigious organization…..we are equally human.

The man in the street who begs for food, the family which survives on government rations…and those who have more than enough to get by…we are equally human.

And YOU!!!....who you think you`re better just because you drive a better car, have a better job or have a bigger house and a good looking spouse….take a moment to think about your worth…don`t measure it by what you have, those things are temporal and when you don`t have them anymore, clearly your value ebbs away …that should not be so!!

Some people will be at different levels in society; economically, socially, spiritually, ‘aesthetically`… etc….and that is where every individual should stand up and acknowledge that all our differences come together and we equally make a contribution to our society in many ways…and that should never be undermined.

Have you taken the time to look at the erected buildings at our malls, the roads upon which we drive….that is someone`s toil…so when you look at that construction worker and think you are better just because he`s fully clad in dusty overalls and you park your car in the parking lot that he made…..think again!

The cleaning lady who you never notice….she makes sure your office is neat and tidy…she has a family too and she has bills to pay too…she has needs too…..see she is equally human. the so-called shoddy jobs that people do to put food on the table for their families…and you do the same, except you are able to do more like take your kids on holiday….see that is a blessing….hold on to it. Don`t rub it in other people`s faces.

The point I`m trying to make is that we all contribute in one way or another… you may make fun of the driver…if he wasn`t a driver, you wouldn`t have public transport….and without the garbage collector our environment will be unbearably deprived of sanitation….the contractor…the cleaner….the grounds men…the secretary…the miner… whatever profession you may deem substandard to yours….they make the greatest impact…so stop shining in a limelight that isn`t yours alone..

Share it with others…we all have an input …and at the end of the day it`s your choice whether your contribution will be beneficial or detrimental to others.

I`ve heard and seen people`s responses to people who they deem different, and although we all have the right to exercise our freedom of speech without hindrance whatsoever!

We need to look at our thoughts and guard our hearts and watch what we say...

We all die, we all feel pain and sorrow….we all have blood moving in our veins, and if you prick the skin just enough, blood will drip from our skin.

Having more or less money, or possessions or things of this world…. doesn`t make you more human or less human. do you know begin to just realize just how much we have been measuring our worth and just how much we have allowed ourselves to be something/nothing in comparison to what we have/ haven`t.

You don`t have to be a religious person to understand that on its own…living is a beautiful experience, if you give ‘life` a chance.

Don`t get me wrong…all these things make life a little more comfortable….but they shouldn`t underpin your choice to live or let live…or just merely exist. ENDS

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