Not Good or Bad, Different.

Wandering through the crowd.
This one's younger and prettier than I.
That one's even older and uglier than I.

This one is witty,
That one is quiet.

How come I keep comparing?
Am I searching for someone who is the same as me?

After a while, my back starts to hurt
And I need to sit down.

Others stand with ease,
But have other difficulties inside.

Each difference I note,
Hits my habit of judgment:
This or that aspect
Better than or not as good as mine.

I need more practice at
Responding without judgment.
Not good or bad,
Different.

Differences to experience,
As they are, not as I would have them be.

Difference not to fear
But to be enriched by.

Somehow difference devolved
Into something to be feared.
As if being the One Right Way
Were so necessary
Yet so fragile.

Everybody is different.

Maybe the best response
Comes from he or she or they
Who listens best to what is different.

When difference is too scary
Step back until you see a similarity
That builds a bridge
And helps move from fear to curiosity, to delight.

Not bad or good.
Different.


	21 August 2018
	by Bill Cattey