DIVERSITY: THE STIFLING PROBLEM WITH SIMILITUDE IN RELATION TO THE INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT OF VIRTUE
in specific regard to humankind -
i have tried many times to consider the viewpoint of A PERSONS judgement WHICH sides with the idea that ‘sameness’ is better than ‘difference’. of what interest does uniformity have? i cannot think of a more mundane life than to all be the same color, same shape, to share the same thoughts… yet, this desire of ‘sameness’ seems to be a pervading involuntary AND COMMON expression. it seems to be a SHARED denominator that people desire sameness within some other(s), in some form. whether that form be intellectually in the meeting of minds and interests, creatively in ideas, experientially in past, spiritually in beliefs or physically in aesthetic, my observation is that what people truly yearn for is connection through reflection; through finding the mirror images of themself. perhaps this is in fact because humans are always in search of the desire, really, to understand their ‘self’; or, perhaps, it is because what is just truly desired is community… but then i cannot help but to wonder, why is there then a gravitation toward community which shares in the sense of ‘likeness’ versus difference? what growth can actually happen, what strengths MAY be acquired, in engaging in a community of common interests/ideas/beliefs/experiences/aesthetic? identity through likeness is comfortable - it says, “i can relate to this __XYZ__. i feel safe with this __XYZ__. i am accepted/belong with this__XYZ__”. if the underlying motive is that humans seek to find sameness to understand themselves, then we cannot expect groundbreaking realizations because there is a greater potentiality in learning about ourselves when we are faced with opposition and differences.
when we do not see in some other(s) what we comfortably see in ourselves, we are forced to turn inward and discover what it is within us which likes/dislikes the difference(s). WHAT I HAVE DISCOVERED IN LIFE THUS FAR, IS THAT our responses to opposition reveal more about us than does the ease of aligning with sameness. this is why I BELIEVE THAT it is critical our circles are painted in various colors, carry different shapes, house various experiences… BECAUSE through the reflection of opposition, we are able to gain the invaluable characteristics of ‘acceptance’, ‘understanding’ and ‘empathy’. if we actively shift the individual narrative to desiring the possession of such characteristics from the desire for communities of sameness, then will be able to walk away from the COMFORTABLE and narrowed scope of desire to seek in other(s) what we see or wish to understand in ourselves… put inTO exercise, it sounds like this: if i desire to become more empathetic then i can be so through aligning with some other(s) that experience/d life in a way different than my own. ALTERNATIVELY, if i desire to be more accepting then i can be so through aligning with some other(s) unlike the color/sexual orientation/gender/religion than my own. it is through seeking from other(s) the quality which we desire to strengthen in ourselves, not seek in other(s) qualities which we desire to align within ourselves, that we are/WILL BE ABLE TO individually to grow more beautifully and fully into virtuous human beings.
if our aim is to become better versions of OURSELVES in congruence with the carry of time, then we MUST embrace opposition as (the only) path in getting there. we must be open to allowing love to grow in places previously unvisited and discover fully in territory otherwise unknown. our world is a constant flux of permutations - territorially, environmentally, evolutionarily, politically, spiritually… we simply should not just “go” but grow with the flow of the many differences which (will) inevitably sprout today and in the future. the adoption of a progressive mindset is the necessary foundation for insinuating any growth individually and thus, collectively. it is good for us to travel to those places which meet us in opposition - as long as we AVOID opposition and grow farther away from the embracement of similitude, we cannot expect any positive growth INDIVIDUALLY NOR AS A WHOLE.
SO I ASK OF YOU THIS - DO YOU WANT TO HARVEST A COLORFUL GARDEN OF ROSES RICH IN VARIOUS SPECIES? OR DO YOU WANT TO HARVEST A UNIFORM GARDEN OF the sAME kind?
i love you!