Embrace Differences

Cosmic Variety

“The eye can see what we have in common or focus on what keeps us apart. And the heart can feel what joins us with everything or replay its many cuts. And the tongue can praise the wind or warn against the storm, can praise the sea or dread the flood.”
Mark Nepo (The Book of Awakening, p.154)

I try from time to time to rid my flower garden of weeds. I'm usually only minimally successful because the weeds are far more tenacious and dedicated to their task than I. But, I noticed this week how very diverse the weeds are in a small plot of ground that runs beside the sidewalk—about 20 feet. There is the usual displaced monkey grass, and also wild onions, rabbit briar, dandelions, red-bud seedlings, small oak saplings, something frilly with purple flowers, reams of Oxalis (wood-sorrel) and copious amounts of lemon-balm-gone-wild. Scattered among them, iris, hosta, roses, day-lilies and rosemary peek through this riot of green. All of them seem to thrive in their chaotic native state. I keep thinking, as I'm pulling weeds, that if this is how they thrive, who am I to try to uproot them. That's laziness talking, I know, but it bears thinking about.

In every kingdom, from plant to mineral, insect to animal, myriad types exist. Take just the one plant—Oxalis, or wood-sorrel. There are 570 species in this genus. There is every kind of rock, and a million different species of trees, birds, fish and bugs. There are more than 12,000 species of ants alone! And, human beings are no different. We come in an array of colors, speak 6,500 different languages and, fully grown, we stand anywhere from about four feet tall to more than 7 feet. While there is only one species of humans living today, we live in 195 different countries, each with it's own unique cultural identity. This is a diverse world in the truest sense.

We can respond to this massive diversity by feeling threatened by differences, or we can celebrate them. We can find the pluralism among us delightful or fearful. We can narrow down our community to only those who closely match us, or we can broaden our scope to embrace earth's variety. We can open our hearts to those who are different from us, or we can build walls and buy guns. One attitude leads to animosity and war, the other leads to understanding and peace. It's all up to us.

In the Spirit,
Jane