Different Strokes

‘If you are lucky enough to be different, don't ever change.’ … so it was written on a sign board in front of an elementary school in south-western Ontario

As a former teacher my first response was that that was EXACTLY what the school system tried to do, to keep differences within an approved range. A little creativity went a long way. Those who thought outside of the prescribed box were not often applauded. And here we had a school actually encouraging the students to be different!

We are all different. We react differently. We have differing likes and dislikes. We have different talents and dreams. But I suspect we have all learned to hide those differences deep within. I know I did. In order to fit into the norm [as we see it] we become someone else on the outside. Who you are on the inside, never changes. It can be hidden, but it is still there.

We can’t change the differences, we can only change our willingness to let others see and appreciate them. The people who are willing and able to do this, are the ones that we remember, the ones we tell stories about, the ones that have inspired generations. They are also the ones that have been persecuted, assassinated and martyred.

Think back over the Bible stories you remember: Noah, who was laughed at for building an ark, Job, who refused to say the he had done something to deserve his hard luck, Abraham, a city-dweller, headed off with his wife and possessions to live a nomadic life and fathered a family in his advancing years. What all of these, in different ways, and many others you can think of, were doing was living out their differences. What their stories are doing is encouraging us to have the courage to live out ours.

For instance, feminism is an ugly word to some, but it brought attention to the fact that simply because of gender, women have been denied the right to be who they really are for centuries.

Until there are no barriers for people caused by colour, race, religion or socio-economic levels, the words on that sign will never really be possible. But every time we risk something by putting ourselves more fully ‘out there’ and when we respect the right of others to do so as well, we bring it a little closer to reality.

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NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

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