I was sitting in class one day during a discussion about a movie we'd recently watched, minding my own business and reflecting on my own thoughts on the film when I suddenly realized that this was a discussion. Not an interview between myself and an interviewer. I was very much aware at that moment that I was surrounded by people, all thinking about the subject we were talking about, and that they were giving input when I wasn't. This may sound absolutely ridiculous to you. 'Of course,' you may be thinking, 'because you just said yourself that it was a discussion, or do you not know what a discussion is?' Apparently I don't.
I realize that I'm a bit too self centered most of the time. I don't believe this is unwarranted since I am firstly human and secondly self sustaining. Being a survivalist naturally puts me in the position of being self interested and apathetic concerning the affairs of other people. If other people aren't surviving, that's hardly my fault and I don't like to dwell on the philanthropy I should be engaged in. In my defense, it's not that I don't care. I've said before that I actually do care quite a bit, but I try very hard not to care because I really can't be bothered at this point in my life. If I'm going to save the world I need to make sure that I can keep my ship sailing, right? If I sink, then you all would sink, and that does no good for anyone.
I can already tell that I'm about to go off on a tangent, which is not the goal of most writing. If I went off on a tangent, this prompt would never end and nobody- well, nobody reads these anyway. SO! I was sitting in this discussion when I was struck with how many people were there talking. They were projecting their own ideas on the meaning of this film, which was in itself a commentary on life. Here we are then, a group of people with different ideas and worldviews creating a collective commentary on life. It was AMAZING. I felt as though I'd been hit in the head with a great bolt of lightning and all my gears were speeding with new motivation.
These people, all strangers, were people. With brains. With thoughts, no less. These thoughts spoke to an underlying reality that cannot be perceived with our natural senses. While I didn't know anything about these people, and I'll admit that none stood out to be as particularly intelligent, I suddenly saw in them the potential to be gods. Most of them will probably never realize their intellectual potential, most of them probably don't even think on things like philosophy or the cosmos on a daily basis, but that doesn't make them any less brilliant than what they could be.
This epiphany sent me into a frenzy. I don't think much of people, but I was suddenly very excited to be one of them, to be sitting amongst them all in their deific embryonic states. I think the world of myself, and I realized that what I need in my life is to think the world of other people. Not because I like them. I don't have to like them, but I want to at least learn to accept them.
Why? Because I've never been able to accept other people. I have my reasons, and my behavior in life has been validated by those reasons. However they are not valid enough to continue living the way I do; certainly not if I am striving to live a Christian life.
God has commanded us to love one another, do unto each other, blah blah blah. I don't mean to undermine commandments here, but this is the attitude I've always had towards other people. They aren't deserving of any respect from me, right? What I was thinking though, after that discussion, was that God never commanded us to like one another. I don't have to like anyone I don't want to, but I have to love? How does that work? I think this year I'm going to try to figure that out, and this epiphany drawn from another ordinary class discussion is a window into what that means. I don't know any of those people, and I probably wouldn't even like ninety percent of them, but that doesn't change the fact that they have thoughts and godlike potential. I have realized that about myself, and it's a fantastic feeling. It's the feeling I need to have towards other people. I don't have to like anyone, but I found that I can love them for who they could be, or even have been and still are now: children of God.
So that's the goal. This year I will learn to love people for what they are in the eyes of God. There's more to be said on this, but I can't concentrate anymore. Too many things to be done I guess.
No comments:
Post a Comment