#365DaysOfHabits Day 2; Sailing Away (8 January 2015)

It’s fascinating to me how we as humans change our perception of something. We grow up and start observing the world, we are told things, taught things and we learn lessons that would help shape and form us into the intellectual beings we are. The wonderful thing, and sometimes quite the opposite, is that we have the divine right to change our minds. The way we see certain things is bound to change as we grow older, become wiser and gain more life experience. Like a said, this can be a struggle and not such a delight as we might have imagined. You see — when we are younger be believe things, there are rights and wrongs. As the years stack up we form our own opinions, we differentiate differently between what is believed to be a yes and what is supposed to be a no.

I got into a conversation today about heaven and hell. Somewhat sensitive subjects for some. It wasn’t some in-depth discussion, rather a much more lighthearted one. It circled around how we see heaven as children: fluffy white clouds you can bounce around on, then you reach the age after that being told Santa is a myth and you discover that clouds are really just water floating around restlessly in the sky — quite disappointing. Then came hell. Again — not a very factual or at all detailed discussion, but he made a very valid argument. He said that he believes hell is different for everyone. Now, I come from a somewhat tradition Afrikaans background and religion is very much apart of that. Hell is always described as fired and pain and discomfort, so the Bible says. While I’m not saying the Bible is wrong, I will simply say this: what one person considers painful and discomforting (in other words, hell) isn’t necessarily how the next experiences it as. What if your idea of going through hell is being stranded in the blistering hot desert with a cellphone that has a battery which is fully charged, but there is no reception? For someone else that might be one huge adventure! So many things are said, and completely different things are meant, and then we interpret it in a way of our own, just to top it all off!

My wish is not to get into a discussion about religion, nor to I want to upset or offend anyone. I just wish to spark a thought, not about heaven or hell, just a spark that we should look at things differently, that we should let our minds sail away and explore options, discover! Weather it is on a serious matter or a run of the mills one. I tend to often overthink — it’s apart of my anatomy, I’m a thinker, which again — has a good and bad side.

Today I read an article written by Benjamin O’Keefe for the Huffington Post. he told the story of himself sitting in Starbucks and watching the story unfold between a father and his son — he could instantly pick up that the boy of about sixteen was gay, although his father on the other hand was a very manly straight man. This obviously lead him to be rather nervous and expecting the worst when a second teenager entered the coffee shop and greeted the first with a hug — that suggested more than just being two buddies meeting for a hot drink. The dad explained that they should let him know when their done so he could come pick up his son. “You guys be good.” The father said. After the dad had left, the two boys kissed and the journalist watched the father parked outside, watching, and smiling. It struck the writer that he judged this dad — just assuming he wouldn’t be okay with his openly gay son, just because of the visual image he got from the father and the message he drew from that. We are so quick to judge and to form an opinion, without being more open and expecting the unexpected. It would be so great if we can be more open minded about life — not just this sort of story, which sadly being open minded is usually associated with.

Listen to that which you do not understand, see reasoning behind that which you haven’t encountered before, and respect that which you don’t agree with. One of the biggest lessons I will ever want to learn while I’m alive, or if I ever get to be a dad. Respect. You don’t need to feel the same, but you can still respect a person as a human and not simply judge them or display hate. We differ from opinion, beliefs or faith and we do not want to understand that which is different. This is a time old story — nothing new about it. Wow, so serious so early in the year, and so early in this project. Oh well, just saying what is going on in my heart and in my mind…which tends to sail of from time to time.

Link to the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/benjamin-okeefe/a-dad-dropped-his-son-off_b_6402888.html

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