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International Day for Tolerance
Show some love for others and ourselves.
November 16th marks the United Nation’s International Day for Tolerance, a day that aims to generate public awareness on the dangers of intolerance.
Ugh... another ‘special’ day, you may ask?
It seems that practically every day of the year has been dedicated a special day to recognise a host of different causes, issues and plights featured on humanity’s long ‘to-do’ list. No day seemingly, is just plain and ordinary like a toasted sambo, but rather a gourmet panini of the day! With so much ‘special recognition’ exposure floating around, sometimes the severity of these issues becomes diluted in the same way that a good song becomes background noise when over-played on the radio. These grave issues are in danger of becoming lost as tokens of ‘just another day’ unless we take the chance to peel behind the words and re-discover the core of what it’s all about.
So today is all about tolerance, the cessation of intolerance. Lactose intolerance, down with dairy, you may think? Well, not quite what we’re trying to get at, but similar idea!
Tolerance for others
A fair and permissive attitude towards other people, beliefs, practices, and opinions that are different from our own, is the nub of what we’re talking about. We could be talking about vegetarians, the belief that The People’s Republic of Cork is supreme, the practice of leaving dishes in the sink until they grow fuzzy bits... we all have our own groove and get our kicks in our own ways. We don’t like when people mess with our quirky selves, so why knock others?
Here’s a thought: take tolerance a step farther. Don’t just be neutral to different people and practices; learn about them by interacting. Step outside your comfort zone, and you may be right shocked at what you discover. What do you have to fear? Think of engaging with new people and practices like trying a new type of food. Enliven your tastebuds, have some guts and dig in! It may not be for you, but at least you can say you tried it. Or, you may be find a new way of doing things that knocks your socks off! Experimenting with all that’s out there in this big bad world is half the fun in deciding who we are ourselves. Go for it!
For YOU
Do you respect yourself? Think about it. Do you give yourself and your values the same degree of kindness and acceptance that you give others? Many of us would quickly answer, “Ah sure, yeah I respect myself, of course.” But really think about this one. Do you ever feel out of place, and wonder if you should change the way you dress, talk or carry on in order to better fit in? Do you ever look at yourself in the mirror in disgust about the spots on your face, the gaps in your teeth, that mop that tries to pass itself off as hair? Harsh eyes give harsh judgement. Have you ever been pressured into taking a friendly snog way further than you really wanted to? Or, maybe you happily got your shag on and then felt like crap the morning after. Did you put yourself down, hang your head in shame and decide that you’re a prude or a whore? Ouch. These thoughts are painful. Each negative thought is like a sucker-punch to our self esteem. Assaulting our self-worth leaves us feeling hurt, sore and lacking confidence. Moreover, we’re likely over time to always be on the defensive, expecting others to put us down, not like us, or do us wrong. Doesn’t sound like much fun. Why are we so hard on ourselves?
On this day when Tolerance is the buzz word, challenge yourself to ease up your judgements and open up your mind to others and yourself. You may be surprised how your softened attitude attracts amazing people into your life and has you realising how amazing you are yourself.
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