10/30/14

mettere a fuoco.




The choice to focus on what we don't agree on, rather than what we do, is a good way to get nothing done.

My last post was on the subject of my relationship with God.  Not that this is a new thing, I've posted about my spiritual beliefs reasonably often since I started writing here at 18 years old.  However, this must have been news for some people, because within five hours of publishing that last post, I lost eight followers.

Now, eight really isn't that large of a number.  I'm not going to be delusional enough to think that my blog actually matters in the grand or even not-grand scheme of things.  Not to mention, this blog has never and will never exist for the purpose of gaining followers.  Were that my goal, I would have given up or started posting pictures of my outfits and writing reviews for deep conditioners long ago. 

But I can't help but think that this sudden, unprecedented loss of followers had something to do with the subject matter of that last post.  And when I saw the difference in that little number at the top right hand side of my screen yesterday, I'll admit, my heart hurt a little.

Not because I was offended or because I was shocked about there actually being people out there who don't agree with me.  I already knew this.  And honestly, I don't know that there is a single person in this entire world who I agree with everything on.  Some of them come close, sure, but there's always something that differs between my opinion and theirs.  And that's great.  Because that's how it was meant to be.  We are all our own unique organism.  (For the record, that was organism.  But, you know, we see what we want to see.)  Our perspectives and tastes differ because that's what they do.  It is our nature to disagree.

The reason for the heart hurt is because I've begun to feel that people are becoming increasingly unable to tolerate differences.  I could go on about how awesome diversity is, how tolerance and love really can and do change the world, praise Haile Salassie.  But I'm not a Rastafarian, I hate reggae almost as much as I hate country, and I'm pretty sure you've heard it all before anyway.

I hope you don't misunderstand me.  I am not asking you to follow me or not follow me.  Some people find me positively boring, which I understand.  A select few might find me mildly interesting here and there, which I don't usually understand but appreciate nonetheless.  I want you to do whatever the H you want.  See?  I'm so lame I can't even swear properly.  Why would you follow me?

What I'm asking is that we all make an effort to focus on our similarities, not our differences.  Don't settle.  Don't agree to disagree, that's such passive-aggressive bulsh.  (Yes, bulsh.)  Use your disagreements to stretch yourself a little further.  Disagree, and then grow.  

Because to say you're open-minded, then shun someone for not being the same "kind" of open-minded as you kind of defeats the whole purpose of open-mindedness.  Right?

15 comments:

  1. Yes yes yes yes yes. ♥
    Every human is separate and individual and completely hopelessly unique. It's okay to have different opinions, but it's hard to find someone who has less clashing opinions than they have similar ones. It's a beautiful thing when humans find other humans to connect with, and a few disagreements shouldn't destroy that opportunity.

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    1. Exactly. I'm glad we can agree on that! :) Thanks, Carly.

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  2. I'm so sorry that these negative people were eating up your feed. That's lame.

    But I believe we can all agree on the fact that bulsh should be a recognized word and that it is my new favorite.

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    1. hahaha it's such a good one, isnt it? Bulsh! So satisfying.

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  3. Oh people can suck sometimes. Our faith is something that is a part of us and we should be allowed to freely express that to others, just like how others express their views on politics, feminism and homosexuality. We all have different beliefs and that's because we are all different so segregating someone based on their beliefs seems a little silly in my books.

    I'm glad you spoke up about what you believed in. It was so encouraging and so therefore I thank you for staying true to yourself <3

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    1. I love this comment, you said it perfectly. Thanks so much, Samantha.

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  4. That is dumb. You are awesome. Unfortunately the world has become so anti-god I find, and people cant even read about someones belief in God. You dont have to agree with someone, but it's good to be educated on other beliefs.

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    1. Isn't that weird? I was kind of blown away. Thanks, Sarah!

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  5. I agree completely with this post! I may not believe in God, but who am I to tell someone else what they can believe in? As long as what you believe in makes you the best person you can possibly be, then I'm going to support it. I actually really enjoy reading people who come from different religions and backgrounds posts, because it gives you a new perspective and insight into the world that you wouldn't have had beforehand. Embrace the difference!

    x Erin

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    1. Yes, yes, yes! I feel the same way. Quite a few of my friends don't believe in God or are Agnostic. And it can be really interesting to talk with them on how they came to the conclusions that they have about these kinds of things. There should be more people like you, Erin. I appreciate it.

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  6. you're so right.. a lot of people don't tolerate differences anymore. it worries me a lot, because in my opinion that's what's wrong with our world. there's a certain image we have to live up to, and if we don't.. we're not fit for our modern times? it's crazy. so i'm glad there are still people like you, who don't mind that certain image and who share the things they believe in, rather than forcing them upon others.

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    1. I totally agree, I think it's a growing issue. All you have to do is log in to Facebook during an election or baseball game and it's appalling how against each other people are. Thanks for commenting :)

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  7. right. whoa, dude. this post is awesome.
    the fact of the matter is, we will never find anyone, ANYONE who we agree with on everything 100% of the time.
    it really kills me how so many folks think they're tolerant and want others to be tolerant of them, but then don't want to be tolerant of us (Christians). and that's certainly not the only thing i love about this post.... i could go on (and on). but can i take a moment to gush over the AWESOME photography here for a moment?! those star shots are just... wow.
    -Abigail
    and p.s. just to set the record straight i'm not going to unfollow you because of your Giants hoodie. :D

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    1. hahaha! Hey, three World Series wins in 5 years...Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

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    2. yeah.... except that it took them seven games to just barely by a hair beat a so called 'wild card' team :)
      actually, my real team is St. Louis but hey, i always go for the kansas or missouri boys.

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