For no particular reason, the face of a beautiful black Woman appeared in my mind the other day… I have always been awed by the great beauty that appears in the world's indigenous peoples… the differences fascinate me….perhaps because I am just plain old wrinkled vanilla… the woman I saw had beautiful smooth shiny skin, huge clear black eyes, sparkling white teeth, and a very sweet smile…. her image set off a whole train of thought…

As I looked at her, I realized that God doesn't see what colour we are, or how straight our teeth, the colour of our hair, or our weight, or anything physical really… S/He sees our hearts, our energy and how it connects, impacts and inspires those around us as well as our environments…. which led to another thought…

God doesn't recognize our borders… we are all One people in God's eyes, living in One World…. But I can imagine that God sees the fears that define our borders, the fears that push people to move legally or illegally, safely or at great risk across these imaginary lines.

Sadly, probably from the beginning of time, we have been conditioned to be suspicious of our differences… we have thought we were separate from each other and so we haven't seen ourselves in the other… we don't see how the other mirrors us, our virtues, and our flaws, our joys and our pains….

Still, we are all One, created in God's likeness, an expression of his passion. What we need to remember is that when we judge another, we are really passing judgment on ourselves… and when you think about it, perhaps also judging God…. We can be better…. let's be kind to each other, not just kind in action, but kind in our thoughts and feelings, generous with our love…

We get what we focus on… then let's focus on our likeness, as we appreciate our differences… let's move past our fears to be kind and loving…  Imagine how we would heal, ourselves and our planet, if only we approached others first with loving kindness… Imagine… we are the same, and different… our world is colourful, mobile, filled with fascinating differences and mysteries… Let us appreciate, even if we don't understand.  Let us be kind. Let us be loving.