Unity

 I, like almost everyone else, am trying to not only cope with, but contemplate and understand the situation we as a society currently find ourselves in.  As stated many times by many people, it is clear that the ongoing pandemic effects everyone in different ways and in different magnitudes.  With this comes the variance of opinion and reaction.  I have my beliefs and feelings and yes, I definitely have my opinions about everything that is happening.  But that is not what this post is about.

I appreciate the opportunities my country, my province and my community provide me to meet and interact with diverse people from different cultures and backgrounds.  I appreciate the opportunity to experience and gain further insight into different cultures, lifestyles and the many people associated with them.  These experiences and gained knowledge help me transcend tolerance and truly develop acceptance, understanding and ultimately empathy.

But with a diverse society comes diverse thoughts, values, customs and opinions.  Unfortunately, if we (society as a whole) don't take the opportunities mentioned above and develop our own empathy, our varied opinions can cause polarity.  I am not suggesting that we all should have the same opinions or values, however if we all developed our understanding and empathy we could have an inherent respect for those opinions that do not perfectly align with our own.  As we move into a third wave and a third lockdown, it is very easy to point our fingers and allow our frustrations to manipulate our emotions and reactions and thus becoming even more polarized.

It is apparent right now that we as a society are very polarized regarding all aspects of the pandemic.  From the science, to the trending statistics, to the governmental responses, restrictions and reactions to them, we have become divided.  We, as a society, are thinking as individuals instead banding together as a society to overcome this.

This post is not about what is right or wrong or what we should or shouldn't be doing.  It is about unity over polarity.

One thing I do know above everything else, compassion and empathy are key to unity and unity is the key to overcoming our current situation.

Thanks for reading.

Mike