"If I want to be accepted as I am,
then I need to be willing to accept others
as they are. It is arrogant to set standards for others.
Louise Hay
Present at a wise woman's lecture, I eagerly sat in the front row, not wanting to miss a single word. The well versed elder instructed us to take a clean piece of paper and list all of the qualities we needed in a friendship. Everyone raced across the page with pens in a flurry. Then we were told to examine these lists to make sure we had not overlooked any of our expectations.
Then she asked us to imagine what our reaction might be if someone approached us with our own requirements. I glanced down at my crisply written list of 15 conditions to be my friend and laughed out loud. "No way!"
As the years unfolded, my perception of friendship changed from how a singular friend might meet my needs to an excitement of what message a friend might bring. Life becomes richer when we recognize the gifts hidden in each other. When we honor diversity in others, they in return can learn to respect ours. We need to live side by side, learning; not behind barriers of ignorance.
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