Here's to the best of you - What I learned this week

It's a simple lesson and something that I've heard a thousand times - if you look for the best or worst in anything, you will find it.

Generally, I consider myself a positive person. But just like anyone, I can be wickedly judgmental and very eager to pull the trigger on people I know and people I don't know.

I realized this week that I've been going astray. I was thinking about someone I'm friends with on my Facebook page. We do not see eye to eye on the issue of guns and gun control, and I believe she is just as passionate about her view as I am about mine. Often I post anti-gun control feeds and anti-Obama remarks. She ignores them all. She does, however, repost, comment and like my posts about saving abused animals, dogs who save people, etc. She, in essence, accepts our differences (which could be viewed by her as the worst in me) and focuses on the things we have in common (which could be viewed by her as the best in me), and I love her for that.

I am not sure what made me think about this so much this past week. I realized that we often tend to view anything we don't have in common with something as 'negative' because someone isn't doing something the way we would do it. I have generally lost my acceptance of people who aren't like me somewhere along the way, and I'm trying to get it back.

It's not that I don't give her or anyone else the same respect she gives me by ignoring things that are of no use to comment on. It's that I do feel that I needlessly judge people who do things differently than me sometimes without ever stopping to think that maybe their way is working for them. Without ever respecting the fact that it's this person's journey, not mine; this person's struggle, not mine; and hopefully someday this person's triumph in whatever struggle they are enduring.

I want to get back to loving people and accepting them for who they are, whoever that may be. Sadly, what once came naturally is going to be a conscious effort. But I believe it's worth it.

Thanks to everyone who accepts me for who I am. Much love to all. :)