Differences of opinion

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We all have our own perspectives, our own ways of experiencing life as we encounter it on a day by day basis. We also have our own way of expressing these differences and the way we think about them ~ our very own opinions.
There is nothing unusual about it. Having our own opinions is a normal part of life.

It is also something that can make our lives interesting. We already know how we think about something, yet chances are that pretty much everybody else has different thoughts, or even different opinions about the same situation.
And if we are patient enough ~ and perhaps above that, tolerant enough ~ to listen to all the different opinions pertaining to the same thing or situation; chances are we will end up with an enormously broadened perspective on it as each opinion may reveal a different aspect of the same thing or situation.

However, for this to happen indeed is unusual...
Normally we have little patience for the opinions of others; we tend to stick with our own. And not only that ~ we are likely to defend our own opinions, sometimes even up to the point of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’: I am seeing this right, and therefore you must be seeing it wrong. As soon as this path is taken there is an ‘us and them’ mentality. We are right, and as they are seeing it differently, or are having a different opinion ~ they must be wrong.
And as they are ‘wrong’ we will have to defend our opinion, because we are ‘right’.

At this point we have allowed ourselves to step into our own, personal ‘crusade’.
What started as having differences of opinion ~ something that can enrich our lives to no end ~ now has become a battle of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Something we have to defend, almost at any cost...
At the same time, we have closed our minds to new perspectives, new experiences. Instead of broadening our horizons, we have narrowed our viewpoint such that it only includes the facts as we see them, think about them or feel them as truth ~ with no room for expansion.

Certainly in the energy of today ~ an energy in which polarities are brought to the surface ~ having differences of opinion can easily work both ways. Our ~ different ~ opinion can just as easily become the basis for our personal ‘crusade’ as it can help reveal a different aspect of a situation or something that is going on.
And we ourselves determine whether the differences of opinion are going to be a source of enrichment in our lives ~ or a source of frustration and hostility.
Now, more than ever before, the choice is ours...
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