The world from the outside looks massive.  Go to a large city and observe the traffic and all of the people scurrying about to get to work, or home, or to wherever it is they are going.   Sometimes  the people are all going to a ball game or event and moving in the same direction, but on most days they all move en mass to say downtown, where once there they scurry off to their building, floor, and office.

Others are moving en mass to a large building such as a factory until they reach the destination of their work space.   Often times, people work “side by side” with others and sometimes people work in an office by themselves where they have some privacy.

The world seems large to an observer watching from atop a building, the people below him, but when you begin to “zoom in” on individuals you realize to them, the world is much smaller.  To them, they have their set of co-workers, friends and family, that reduce the “size” of their world to something more manageable.

Now imagine if you were thrust to another planet where things worked differently, and you didn’t know anyone else.   To you, the people on the planet may all look alike, and nothing that they may do makes any sense to you.  But when you begin to watch an individual, you begin to realize that they may not be much different from you.

Look at another country, possibly a country or a group of people who you may be somewhat afraid of.   Do the people en mass frighten you?  Do you think that maybe they are different and you cannot see the individuals, because they may all be wearing masks?   Are the masks really there or do you place them there because you cannot envision their faces?

Now think about one of those people, and put yourself in their footsteps.  Imagine what their day is like.   Do they sleep in a bed?  Do they have food to eat?   Do they have shelter?  Imagine what it would be like to be that person in their conditions.  Maybe they sleep in a palace and you think that everything is wonderful.   There too,  really put yourself there and imagine what their day and life is like.

Now, do you see anything differently?   Like the aliens on another planet, once you see an individual person and begin to understand them, you see the “group” as a whole differently.   When we do not understand someone, we have a tendency to “group” or “classify” them so our brain can attempt to understand them.  However, as soon as you do that, you negate them.

When you group someone, or stereotype someone, you are not at all accurate.  You are saying that I already know you, even though I know nothing about you, because I know your “type.”  That is one of the worst things you can do to someone, is to assume you know them.  For one, we do not even “know” ourselves, so how can we “know” anyone else?  Further, someone we may not have even met, or talked to, we assume we know because we know the “group” for which we THINK they belong.

Today, we would like you to tear off the masks that you have placed on others, and look at their face.  Look into their eyes and connect with the individual.  Maybe they have a belief that differs from yours, but who in your circle of friends and family does not have a differing belief, yet they are still your friend?  Tear down the wall that divides and get to know the people on the other side, one person at a time.

When you label someone because you think you “know them,”  you are diminishing everything there is to know about that person and the only thing that is being revealed is your own ignorance and arrogance!

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Take the time to know the people you have “labeled,” but have never met, and you will find that you really do not know anyone, at least until you meet them!

Written Nov 22, 2013, 8:15 – 8:33 AM