3 years ago
Monday, August 10, 2009
Tolerance
When I was in the MTC I made friends with a couple of sisters who were Samoan. They would eat lunch with my district quite often and one day we started talking about phrases we use and phrases they use and the difference. They taught us a phrase that went like this.....E eseese pato (I hope I spelt that right!), the translation is "ducks are different". I remember asking what that meant, and they said that basically it says "everybody is unique, different-so be tolerant". This phrase came back to me today because lately I have been thinking a lot about tolerance, maybe it's because I have been experiencing situations where there needs to be more tolerance for people's beliefs, how they live their lives, or even the challenges they experience in life. Who are we to judge them? I have listened to so many people this past week judge one another on their religious beliefs, on their marriages, on their mistakes, or even on their hardships (who are we to go and judge someone if they need medicaid or need help feeding their families!) Now I understand that I am a social worker, so I am naturally passionate about tolerance, but it just seems like this world is beooming more and more intolerant. Last week wasn't the first week I have heard intolerance, it's almost hard to go somewhere and not see it or hear it. I think tolerance is one of those things we have to wake up everyday and make a committment to strive to reach. One of the greatest things we can give someone is respect, a little respect can go a long way, and I believe that respect is something that can be passed on just by receiving it. We don't have to have a formal lesson to learn it. We just need to listen to people's stories with compassion. I once heard in a sacrament meeting that if we understood everyone's stories then we wouldn't judge one another, we would extend love instead. I don't mean to be on a soap box about this, it's just something that has bothered me lately and I am by no means perfect, so I hope I can wake up each day and tune my heart more each day to hear the stories of the people around me so I can love them a little more each day.
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4 comments:
So true Lauren, Thanks for that, I find that it is needed even in my own home.
Okay, I have a question for you, just a question, and I may be a little off on what you are trying to say. I love it, I really do. BUT What about the Savior when he went to the Temple and they were selling goods, i think that's what it was? I know that he knows the intents of their hearts, but aren't we to pattern lives as the Savior did. When do we draw the line? Does my question even make sense? I have thought a lot about tolerance myself, and have wondered where do i draw the line and just stop caring. Not in a bad way, just you leave me alone I will leave you alone approach.
Wendy,
I think I understand what you were saying, but I think these are 2 totally different situations. I think with your example it would be like us today having to remove someone from our Temples who shouldn't be in the Temple. Christ had to remove those people out of the Temple because they were sinning in the Temple. What I was saying in my post was that we shouldn't be passing judgments that are unrighteous and unfair on others. We need to be respectful of others even we don't believe it. Being respectful does not mean that we accept their beliefs to be true, but we don't have to be derogatory or hurtful to those people. I understand the whole you leave me alone I will leave you alone approach too, the only thing is with that approach I think it can cause lack of unity...especially in families. Maybe I didn't get what you were saying exactly, so if I misunderstood I apologize.
no, your right. I thought about the temple too and figured the same thing. I have a lot more to say about and it would be great to chat about it, but I can't stay to long on the computer! Anyways, I love the thoughts! I am waiting for pictures of your NEW couch and the inside of your new place. Do you like it there overall?
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