Acceptance
is crucial in these times of ever-widening political, religious, and financial
divisions. More than ever, many people enjoy making their opinions known. Furthermore, they don’t enjoy being shown
that their views may not be the only viable solution to important crises. In
fact, some of us really struggle against this knowledge.
Bottom line: We all want to be right. We all desire our beliefs to be respected, if not embraced.
In other words, every human being wants to be accepted, even if they aren’t
understood.
The Challenge
The main
test of acceptance comes when certain individuals don’t have the training, or
capacity, to think like us. Upon consideration, how is it even fair to expect
every single person to have our same life experience, including our mental and
physical capacity? It just isn’t possible.
Many of us are dealing with limitations. Some
of these restrictions are evident; some aren’t.
Jessica
This young lady
recently visited relatives. She has Asperger’s syndrome, which means she
operates high on the autism scale. Jessica is intelligent and highly creative,
but socially awkward.
Jessica is
used to a laid-back, private lifestyle. She’s accustomed to physical and mental
“space”, or freedom. This naturally reserved young woman doesn’t do well in
crowds. They cause her a good deal of stress. Unfamiliar situations also
trigger anxiety. Jessica retreats into herself, or lashes out at others.
On the other
hand, the family members with whom Jessica visited are social and outgoing. They
love entertaining guests in their home. These relatives loudly chastised the
young lady for her natural desire to have time alone. This reaction made
Jessica more confused and sad. She doesn’t know how to be anything other than
her true self.
Her relatives are aware of Jessica's reticence; but, they are unwilling to accommodate it. She has no immediate desire to repeat her visit.
Her relatives are aware of Jessica's reticence; but, they are unwilling to accommodate it. She has no immediate desire to repeat her visit.
My Conclusion
Everyone has
different personalities. That provides an opportunity for us to accept others
as they are, not try to mold them to our way of thinking. We can look at people
with our hearts, not our eyes. Our hearts will tell us the way of universal
love and respect.
How have you been more accepting lately?
