If I’ve ever met you, there’s a good chance you made me smile. And maybe you didn’t, but I know you could if you wanted to. If you’ve ever met me, I hope I made you smile, even if only a little bit. I’ll bet, if we could make each other smile, we could be good friends.
You know what, maybe we should be friends. Sure, we have our differences, but we also have a great deal in common. What we have in common, even if it’s only a few things, is strong enough to make us friends.
So, let’s be friends. Ok, now that you’re my friend, I need to let you know some things about me. After all, you should know your friends. So here goes:
I don’t care what political party you are registered under and I don’t care who you want to vote for. Maybe we will vote the same way, maybe we won’t, that doesn’t matter to me. You matter. Your party, your candidate - even if I disagree with you, I still like you. You haven’t lost my respect because we may differ. You’re my friend.
You may think I’m scared if I wear a mask. You may think I don’t understand science. You may think I don’t understand faith. That’s okay. You may not know what’s going on in “my world.” I may not know what’s going on in your world, either. I may see you driving alone in your car while you wear a mask. It’s your car, it’s your mask. You need to do what you think you need to do. I don’t pity you, I’m not better than you. I’m your friend.
Maybe you’re taller than me. Maybe I’m pale and you’re not. Maybe I talk funny next to you. Maybe you like Keith Sweat and I like George Michaels. Maybe you’re a vegan and maybe I’m an Egg McMuffin. Maybe you like Buddha, maybe I’m fond of Jesus. Maybe you believe in astral planes and maybe I believe in the micro-cosmos. Maybe you’re in the Microsoft Gate and maybe I’ve been Mac-notized.
Isn’t it great that we can respect each other even if we disagree, or have different beliefs, or we do different things, or we look different? Isn’t it great that we can be so different and still see in each other and still listen to each other? After all, we are friends.
At least we should be.
We have so much in common. We both want to be happy. We both want to be loved. We both want to be respected. We both want to be heard. We both want to be seen. We both want to be...
And why can’t we be?
After all, we come from the same place. The same source of life is in us both. We breathe the same air. We live in the same place. Why should we be divided by our differences when on the inside, we are much the same?
Think about it. We are like bubbles.
What makes bubbles “neat” is their size, their shape, the ways they float, the ways that combine, etc... What makes bubbles beautiful is the way they reflect the light, the way their colors swirl and dance and the way they sparkle. They have the same air and their beauty is revealed by the same light. And that’s us, we are like bubbles.
But bubbles, as you know, are fragile and they are only here for a short while. Soon, they pop. And when they pop, their beauty disappears, even though the same source that filled them is still there.
Anyway, as your friend, I just wanted you to know me a little better. I don’t want our differences to get in the way of our friendship. Besides, this life is so short and our bubbles won’t last forever. They’ll pop one day, and the source that filled them will join itself again.
But until then, while we are here, we should be friends. Let’s see in one another, listen to one another, honor each other, and respect the life that fills us both. If we can’t do that, what are we doing here?
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