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You wrote a post a few weeks ago Rapunzel, that I thought was very well written.

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In history, people tended to live in smaller, more uniform cummunities where everyone in that place grew up not too far away, with the same kinds of experiences, education, and beliefs. They looked the same, talked the same, acted very much the same, and also for the most part believed the same. A community only needed one church (or substitute appropriate term for the relevant form of worship/spirituality for that culture), because they for the most part all had the same religion too. It may have never occurred to them that there was any other way to live. It must have been very hard to be open minded about travelers or anyone who was different, with such limited exposure to diversity of any kind.

Now the world has changed, and we travel, and people from the other side of the globe may be our next door neighbors. This gives us so many more choices and opportunities than our ancestors had! It is a wonderful thing that we can sit here and talk to each other here and get to know each other, and physical distance is no barrier. Yet there are still challenges. Most of us want to be comfortable with the differences, but it isn't easy to have enough trust and good will. There is a tendency to assume that our own way is the right way. That was what we were taught, wasn't it? It works for us, right? But if we put ourselves in someone else's place, and they want us to accept what they have learned is the best way, and they don't understand why we cling to our beliefs and ways of doing things, and maybe get irritable about our stubbornness and close-mindedness, then we can start to see the challenges that go both ways.

Most or probably nearly all of us here have good intentions. We want to share, and we want to be accepted and understood. Most of us accept diversity as a good thing, and something that we can all benifit and learn from. But it's just not as easy as it looks.

The best solution to much of the misunderstanding and hurt that has happened throughout the world and throughout history and which continues even now is for people to get to know each other as people, and see how we are more alike than we are different. We need to begin to understand each other and recognize each other's humanity. Most of the time, that is what happens here on these forums, where we are brought together by shared struggles and problems, and we become friends.

I am glad that we have the opportunity to share more of ourselves here. There is more to us than our mental illnesses. We are people, who have lives and cultures and families and beliefs. I believe in being holistic, and I take that term pretty literally. I think that all aspects of how we live our lives are very important.

One thing that is a challenge for all of us at one time or another is to open up our thinking enough to look from someone else's perspective. It is easy to see ourselves as victims. Many of us have been victims far too much, and we have learned to defend ourselves to try to keep from being hurt again. It isn't so easy to see how our defenses might affect someone else who also has been a victim, and now may feel victimized by our actions or words. That is the kind of thinking shift that needs to happen though. Imagine the difference it would make in the world if everyone were able to shift freely from a narrow perspective of themselves as a victim to themselves wielding power that they can choose to use to heal rather than destroy. I know it is idealistic, but I keep hoping that maybe we can start here. And I think that we have.


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I've not been terribly active in this forum although recently, I have enjoyed taking part in some of the discussions, particularly those that gave me an opportunity to share and discuss Jungian concepts. I've also enjoyed reading some of the different perspectives. For example, not long ago someone shared a brief passage from the Quran. I've never read the Quran so that was new to me -- not frightening, not threatening -- new, different, yet another perspective.

I do appreciate that you tried.

Regards.