Beech Tree News Network

I have not written anything new in a while. As most of you know my mother passed away less than two weeks ago and before that she was beginning to need round the clock care, so things had gotten a bit hectic and exhausting for a while.

 I loved my mother and miss her terribly but there has been more than one occasion when I have pondered that perhaps I was born in to the family I was so that I may learn to love people who are completely different from me. 

This week also marks the anniversary of our eldest child's birth. My two children are a lot like me in several respects but not all. They are their own people with their own uniqueness but I love them both with all my heart. Perhaps that is a big concept all of us need to grasp, especially in the divisive times we seem to have found ourselves in; how to love those completely different from us, maybe we all are here,  needing to grasp on to that basic premise about life itself. With that in mind I reworked a column I wrote a while back. 

  All of us are different from those around us, sometimes even very different from those we love and are close to. Let's study some of those differences in how we are built, for a moment. I am best able to focus and examine dispositions similar to mine, so here goes.

I prefer to function in a relaxed atmosphere, one that is comfortable, tranquil, soothing and peaceful. Others thrive under more stress and chaos, neither would thrive in the others domain. I am much more inclined to deal with people with a relational type of format; many prefer more professional and somewhat detached way of solving problems and forwarding agendas. I will always choose informal and unceremonious, to be at ease, while others flourish under ceremony and formality. I am very much in the unstructured and creative division and have trouble even being able to relate to another way, yet there are those who will stand firm on structure, routine and discipline. I believe in teams rather than hierarchy. I believe in togetherness rather than separation and I believe in life having purpose rather than accidental. All my beliefs are not held by everyone but there are some things that we are all alike in and we can never forget this.

All of us want to feel that we matter, that we are not just going through the motions of survival. We all want to feel that we make a difference instead of being tossed by the wayside as useless or irrelevant. We all long for safety and security instead of living in constant fear or lack. We all long to be admired in some way and the majority of us long to contribute, for it is a built in need to find purpose in contribution.

We are all different, that is true and what works for some will not work for others, to be frank, I for one am very glad it is that way. When it comes to certain things though; we are not that different at all. Let’s celebrate our differences but when it comes to relying on, caring for, and loving each other, let's all be on the same page and not let anyone fall through the cracks.