Images of Self

We're going to a zoo?  And then a national research institute?  I guess my San Diego-snobbery got in the way!  After all, San Diego has a "world famous zoo", a safari park, Seaworld, and Scripps Research Institute!

Boy, was I wrong!  I was trapped in one Way of Thinking -- that what I have is better.  I would have missed the beauty and variety of Amazonian mammals, marine life, and insects found only in this part of the world.

And, I would have missed being caught in an Amazon Rainforest downpour that  has to be experienced (at least once!).

Are there times when you feel trapped?
(Photo:  Amazon River Otter, Instituto Nacional
de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil - Larry Gardepie)

It takes these moments of resistance...and flexibility... to accept an invitation for self-reflection:

• Who am I?
  
• Who am I in relation to others?
• Who am I in relation to the world?
  

We are challenged to ask other questions as well:  What makes where we live special?  Are we any better than others?  How can we experience anew -- with wonder and excitement -- the world we haven't encountered or don't understand?

How do you see yourself?
(Photo: Zooligico do CIGS, Manaus, Brazil - Larry Gardepie)

While on this Amazonian reflective journey, I came across a quote attributed to Mother Teresa: 

 

No one in this world is pure and perfect.

If you avoid people for their mistakes,

you will be alone in this world.

So judge less and love more.

I have to admit, though, this is so difficult to live out in our polarized world where One Side won't even talk or listen to The Other!

What standards do you have for yourself and others?
(Photo credit: Facebook download)

How then do we get past our embedded ideologies?  Is it as simple as Judge Less and Love More?

So many questions this week!  What are your thoughts?  Have you found ways to engage in a diverse world where Our Snobberies are overcome, and we experience the Downpour of Love and Acceptance?

 

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting