Tolerance and my Babies

tolerance: 

a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions, beliefs, and practices that differ from one's own; interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; endurance

I want my kids to know tolerance. Not only by teaching them what it is, but by showing them daily what a normal way to treat people looks like.  Beyond tolerance, I just want them to love without the boundaries of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, class, school, cleanliness, diagnosis, etc, etc, ETC!!

I want them to know it's ok to disagree and still love and that you don't repay ignorance with ignorance. You repay ignorance with love and prayer and hope that the ignorant will think "what's different about him/her?  Why is there no angry reaction, no angry debate?"

I want them to know that sometimes as they give their points of view there will be people that will never accept it or their right to even have it. Love those people anyway. Up close or from a distance, but don't let your hearts be hardened, my babies!

Love love love!  

Accept people even when you can't accept what they're doing. Be patient with them as you hope people are patient with you as you figure out who you are. 

We have this huge part in raising the next generation that WILL change the world and I am praying and planning for change for the better!!

INtolerance screams to the world that you aren't secure enough in your own beliefs to hear the beliefs of another and respect their right to have them. I don't want my children to behave this way. 

Be kind today.  Tolerance doesn't mean screaming your beliefs louder than the next person while covering your ears, changing your own beliefs, or remaining silent. 

Speak up when you need to speak up. 

But if you want people to hear you, 

maybe you should hear them.

SaveSave