Image by csifferd from Pixabay
by Lisa Hauf
I’m always amazed at how well children can look past their differences and focus on their mutual interests. Their entire worlds don’t have to jive, yet they can laugh together and enjoy the day. But as we get older, it seems this is harder to do. Things become black and white and the amount of respect for others seems to fade.
My oldest son has several friends, all with different interests and lifestyles. Yet, it doesn’t seem to bother them and they each show an inspiring form of admiration for each other. As my son travels for hockey, we don’t have much time to invite his buddies over and connect, but it’s never a big deal. When the season ends, they find their time to hang out and talk about bugs, video games, and the latest trend, YouTube videos.
As we grow older our instincts to judge others becomes so forceful. Everyone is trying to tell their story, in hopes others will understand them better. The diverse lifestyles we all lead become a ground to judge and form opinions of entitlement.
I have a close friend who grew up in the country and now lives on the East Coast. Looking at it from this angle, we have always had different lifestyles, yet she is one of my closest friends. We embrace our commonalities and support each other’s opinions and choices. We know what subjects to avoid, but that doesn’t mean we don’t respect and love each other.
Maybe you work on a farm, maybe you help supply electricity to that farm, maybe you help sell the food that farmer grows. City or country, we are all tied together. And I must say, our biggest common ground is the food we ALL love to eat.
Wouldn’t life be awesome if we worked on finding our common interests and building each other up instead of focusing on our differences? I understand it isn’t always realistic to do that, but I sure wish there was more of it. I challenge you today to take a chance and compliment one person’s differences. Maybe that compliment will lead to a commonality and a future friendship.
Lisa Hauf is a mom of three active boys and serves as NDFB's Director of Public Relations