At the very heart of the human condition lies empathy, which forms the basis of all human interactions. Accepting the differences in others is not just an act of empathy, but an act of humanity as well. This transcends the self-centered notion of only accepting what you believe in, acceptance is acceptance or else it is prejudice/bigotry. This goes for accepting other religious or spiritual views, sexes, genders, races, nationalities, ages, past times, and otherwise whoever and whatever a person is (minus murderers and rapists/pedos and those who hurt others willfully). 

This is a new age, a new time, and the planet itself seems to advocate for some semblance of newness, and we can either move with the flow of acceptance, or accept the antiquated beliefs of our parents. You can feel the global paradigm shift, it is palpable on an international scale and scope. Acceptance is the very foundation of this new age, and those who refuse to accept other’s differences must accept other’s ridicule for their prejudice and refusal to grow. This is Earth 2.0 and I for one, having been the victim of religious intolerance for decades, could not be happier! 

What you do, believe, feel, etcetera has no bearing on me and my life, so why should I care? Why should I react and respond negatively to other’s choices and yet expect other people to respond positively to mine? I am not responsible for other’s choices, but I am wholly responsible for my own reactions. 

In all honesty, and I mean this with full sincerity, I don’t hate anyone, as hate gives that person real estate in your mind and acknowledges them as a threat. I don’t care if someone is diametrically opposite of me, they can still be my friend because no matter how many differences we share, we’re all human and have much more in common. If you can see the humanity in me, I can see it in you, if you can respect me, I can respect and find love for you. 

Little in this world shocks me nowadays, to shock me you’d have to be devoid of human empathy and compassion (ie. murderer, rapist, pedophile) and do something heinous. I am 42 years old as I write this, I have seen both the best and worst of humanity and from that, I have learned to dissolve foolish judgments of others and accept people as people. Aside from that, I have learned that perception is projection, to dislike something in others, you must have first experienced it within yourself. 

How many people who have called gay people horrible names, or who ran conversion therapies came out as gay later? That’s a prime example of perception is projection!