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| Chandelier in Palace de Versailles |
Recently I visited the Palace of Versailles in Paris, France. The palace is filled with all types of wonderfulness – art, furniture and landscaping. There were tons of people trying to see the palace and all of its glory. These individuals and families came from all different places around the world – France, China, America, Brazil, and even Tokyo. All of these people are different – short, tall, skinny, voluptuous, ranging from every race imaginable. And on these palace grounds, captivated by all of its beauty, these different people wanted to take pictures.
Maybe they were taking pictures to remember the marvelous works produced and displayed there. Maybe they wanted to show their dying relative who is on their sick bed what they couldn’t see. Maybe they wanted to take these photos and use them in a scrap book for the baby they are expecting. Whatever the reasons they may have had, these people, including myself took pictures of the same things. I even remember getting bum rushed by a group of people trying to take a picture of the same room, same object, and/or same landscape. Whether standing right next to me or 50 ft away, we were all focusing in on the same thing, yet all of our pictures turned out to be different. Due to the different angles in which we were standing, we had a different viewpoint… but the final product was the same – we had a picture of the object.
When dealing with people who believe in God and want to live according to His will, they may have different viewpoints. Some are uber religious; others, not so much. Some are very wealthy and others are just barely making it. Some people are very frank and direct and call a spade a spade (like the picture to the left), while others like to give infinite details just to tell you the same thing (picture on right). But no matter on what their viewpoint, their focus is the same: to live their lives as God would see fit.
We, as children of God, should realize that everyone is different… which includes, but is not limited to their viewpoints. We, as children of God, should also understand that we are all (as His children) striving to live a life of good will and intentions. Just because a person does not live their life according to YOUR will and base their decisions off of the decisions that you would make, does not mean that you should go around judging them based on their actions. You are not perfect, so you shouldn’t have expectations that the next person will be. I guess in saying all of this, I am really asking you to look deep down in yourself and find this thing called “tolerance”. Also, lead by example and not by command. Be a reflection of the person you want others to perceive (I constantly am telling my friends “you are who you attract”). Once we learn how to embrace that, everything else should fall into place. Keep in mind that just as there as different viewpoints, there are different reasons for why we have these viewpoints, so tolerance, compassion, and understanding should all be attributes in which we possess and exercise daily. Just like I was unsure why people might have wanted to take pictures, you never know why people see things the way they do (unless you ask, of course). Remember: We are all focusing on the same thing, just from a different viewpoint.
