I am the kind of human that is amazed by other humans. I am inspired by stories of strength and simple acts of kindness. It doesn't take much to recognize when someone is being a genuine human being who makes mistakes, pushes themselves to be better and to learn, and to acknowledge one another with respect and kindness. Today I have been moved to think. My friends and I attended Christ Community Chapel on this snowy Sunday morning and was greeted by a sermon unlike any other. The pastor at this is recorded in the first sermon then played back on the following ones. Today he interviewed Jamel and Andrew. Jamel, a black man, was wrongly convicted of having drugs by being at the wrong place at the wrong time by Andrew, a cop who became corrupt and admitted he wrongly convicted Jamel after Jamel already served three out of ten years in prison. Whether or not you are religious the message was clear - we need to find the place in our heart to not only apologize to those we have wrong and forgive those who wronged us, but to build relationships with one another in order to understand one another.
Andrew made the connection of saying, "I know what I see as a white man ex-cop when I see a black man shot on the news. But now I am also interested in how Jamel, a black man wrongly convicted sees from the same news story."
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In this planet it is all about building relationships. It is about understanding how we are all human beings. We all are on this planet relying on one another for our survival, but we get lost from that with materialistic ideals, power, and the thought of our own personal success. We look at color and ethnicities as major differences; in reality these differences are what make us unique and keep this planet thriving. Yes, there are bad eggs on this Earth, but why do we let a few bad eggs break the other good eggs? Why don't we help protect each egg knowing by protecting them we will also be protected. I watch the news and am bombarded by war, hatred, and corruption and all I can think is, Why?
We shouldn't be afraid to talk to one another just because of our skin color, heritage, or differences; that is exactly what we need to be doing in order to learn from one another. Negativity and isolation is what will tear us all down, but relationship building? That is exactly what will help us reach our goal of pure happiness.
