Raise Your Hand

“There is more to admire in one another than there is to dislike.” 

Tony Dokoapil on CBS This Morning

In today’s world, we are told to slap a single, flat label on “others,” making them the enemy and rejecting who they are. But we are multi-faceted people. 

Raise Your Hand If….

• You are tired of distancing yourself and staying at home
• You have eaten your way through the refrigerator and are halfway through the pantry
• You or a family member have or had the COVID-19 virus
• You are a caretaker: nurse, doctor, first responder, therapist, parent, child.
• You served our country in the military
• You have children and want them to have a better life than you had
• You have parents, and want them to live the retirement lifestyle they have always desired: travel, that house by the lake
• You or a family member has a health issue: depression, PTSD or another mental issue, a life-threatening illness, an annoying but manageable illness
• You are creative: an artist, writer, musician, architect, landscaper, inventor
• You are brave most of the time, sometimes, or wish you were braver
• You have a dream for your future, waiting at the bottom of your heart
• You are lonely, afraid, feeling empty
• You are living with violence from a spouse, parent, child, or another person in power
• You love hugs, kisses, making love
• You are in the middle of fulfilling your life dream
• You want to be seen, heard, respected, understood
• You have a vision for this country
• You are following a faith tradition or your own pathway

I could go on, but you get the idea. We raised our hands to many of the same statements. If we could stand in a group (not now, due to COVID-19), we would recognize that we have many of the same hopes, visions, and struggles as others. We could come to understand life experiences outside of our own, and how, using our unique abilities and common experiences, we could work together, to build a better world.

When we see each other only as a single label, we miss the beauty inside all of us. We are multi-faceted jewels. We share bright, colorful, and shining facets, as well as remnants of wounds. We can look beyond labels and acknowledge, respect, and explore our own and each other’s humanity.

I'll raise my hand for that.