Reflections

Please log in or Create a Profile to post a comment.

  1. A
    ActiveD5

    I love learning from others and constantly am reading and taking opportunities to learn from podcasts and classes.

    4 months ago
  2. Anna

    My family, everyone is different from me!
    My colleagues, my teammates in my choir, my friends.
    My neighbors are very different from me.
    And this community in this sacred place, as dear O. Cristina says.
    My God help me to discern good and opportunities.

    4 months ago
  3. O.Christina

    It is here every morning when meeting you in this sacred place, and in every encounter. Deeply grateful for this opportunity.

    4 months ago
  4. Robin Ann

    I do all the time where I work. Part of our yearly goals is to learn more about Diversity and Inclusion. This year we were asked to at least have 10 hours towards this goal. We have also added in the past year “Employee Resource Groups” that offer lunch and learns. I really enjoy this aspect of my work environment.

    4 months ago
  5. Don Jones

    The depth and breadth of responses here is always a good place to look.

    4 months ago
  6. Barb C

    This may sound funny, but I genuinely miss the old Twitter as a place that gave me many opportunities to do just this. I deliberately sought out people to follow and learn from who have very different life experiences from mine because of how the world sees them. I’ve learned so much from people who work for social justice, disability justice, racial justice, by listening and not jumping in with my perspective as a college-educated middle-class white woman who currently doesn’t have disabilities (a temporary condition, if you think about it). I now subscribe to more newsletters to fill this gap but it really isn’t the same environment that Twitter was.
    To me this isn’t the same as thinking “every human is unique and has something to teach me,” although that’s true (I love the saying Joseph shared from an older farmer–so wise!). This arises from being aware of my privilege and seeking to expand my awareness and understanding of the systemic barriers people face so I can then work to take those down.
    This effort has changed my vocabulary as well. I’m much more aware of the way some words embed an implicit “-ism”. If I use an old saying I first look it up to know its history (“grandfather clause”, for example, arose from racist voting laws in the South; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_clause) and then eliminate it from my usage. I majored in English and linguistics so this practice is something that sticks. (A resource if you’re interested in thinking about this some more: https://consciousstyleguide.com/general/.)
    I attend quite a few conferences for my work and have for years. I started cultivating a practice of always choosing a table or group at a meal or reception that includes people of different racial backgrounds than my northern European heritage. This has broadened my circle of professional acquaintances greatly and I learn from listening to how they’re receiving the content of the conference.
    Because of the nature of my specific position, which is relatively rare in my line of work, I’m often asked to speak on panels or give a keynote address. I enjoy this so initially my reflex was to say yes. Now my reflex is to ask who else is on the panel and to say that I can suggest potential speakers so they don’t have an all-white panel. If that would make the panel too large I’ll decline the invitation so other people get to learn from those perspectives I don’t bring. How do I know who to suggest? Those informal conversations at conferences, along with my professional network in general. Every time I make the direct statement that my policy is not to take a spot on an all-white panel, I have one more person thinking about that. The first time I did this I wondered how it would be received; the person on the other end of the e-mail thanked me for prompting them to think about this directly and offering the resource of potential speaker suggestions. If they’re white and they’re not doing what I’ve been doing at conferences so their circle of professional connections is primarily white, they don’t have the network I do to draw on. By doing this I’m making the panel one that I will learn more from myself.
    All of this has enriched my life greatly. It arises from some of my earliest teachings from my mom; thanks, Mom! (https://biketoworkbarb.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-i-came-to-be-bike-advocate.html)

    4 months ago
  7. Journey

    Every time I judge someone is an opportunity to remember that they are merely different from me and that I can learn something from their perspectives and points of view.

    4 months ago
  8. Carla

    An early morning phone call began my encounters today of listening and learning how another walks through her grief and loss, and caregiving a spouse. Listening begins the opportunity to learn how others walk in their sandals, boots, or bare feet. May my ears be open, and any judgmental thoughts be removed from the lenses I see others with.

    4 months ago
  9. Charlie T

    As I searched my memory bank, for
    people “different” from me, I am struck
    by the realization that everyone is different
    and everyone is the same. Both thing are
    true. Of course, I reflexively put people
    in box’s, young, old, rich, poor, skinny,
    fat, good, bad, conservative, liberal, and
    on and on I go. What I am trying to keep
    in mind, is that these are all illusions, forms
    that I have created to keep my ego fed.
    We all live and we all die.
    Everyone is a teacher. Just ask a question and
    listen to the answer with an open mind and
    Heart.

    4 months ago
  10. Ngoc Nguyen

    For me, it could be anywhere, as much as I want to learn. Everyone is different, even me and my twin sister. I wake up every morning, dress in, step out of my room, whom, I first encounter on that day, is a beginning of the opportunities to learn. I learn to persuade myself for a justice agreement, and presenting disagreement in peace and respectful.
    The key to observing an opportunity is my mind, not location.

    4 months ago
  11. Yram

    My first thought was of a culturally different person and who would that be? In reality, everyone is different from me. If I am aware and observant, I will be very smart and loving.

    4 months ago
  12. Michele

    This website! I love that there are many different cultures, backgrounds, ages, etc to view different perspectives from and learn from each other.
    Happy Sunday everyone 🙂

    4 months ago
    1. Ngoc Nguyen

      Happy Sunday!

      4 months ago
  13. Mary Mantei

    I truly value children as teachers. They inform my mind and heart. I taught middle school students for 20 years. The first day of school each year, I told them a big part of my work was to teach them, challenge them, celebrate their growth. And then I told them one of their jobs was to help me see the world through their eyes, and keep my young!

    4 months ago
  14. Nannette

    As I have mentioned before….I live in a very rural setting. I do not see any “strangers”…but I come to this site every day and read another’s lesson and/or perspective. I am always in awe of something that someone here has shared. Weekly on Saturday mornings when possible I meet with a group of 5-6 other ladies… we are all older and we have a “meditation session”. We have a reading or we are reading a book and we discuss what we have learned or what we are questioning. Our discussions are always enlightening. Here on this site every day- I look forward to ‘seeing” the folks who visit daily and read thier thoughts…and I learn and am connected. Thank you.

    4 months ago
    1. Yram

      That is expressed so well. I agree with all you shared.

      4 months ago
  15. Antoinette

    Everyone has something to teach me! This is wonderful, because there are teachers all around! Thank you !

    4 months ago
1 2

Subscribe to Grateful Living

Give yourself the gift of free bi-monthly inspiration including uplifting articles, diverse stories, supportive practices, videos, and more, delivered with heart to your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Customize your subscription