Monday, July 14, 2008

Putting Myself Out There

I've been dealing with discrimination for many years. There are so many people out there who judge me based on my weight and not on my heart that I have learned to keep inside myself. This is a hard thing for me since I am naturally interested in people (from my years as a reporter) and like to talk and find out about others. But it has become increasingly hard for me to do this when I sense others disapproval of me.

In my new effort to have a more positive outlook (as per President Hinckley's example) I am trying to put myself out there again. Sometimes I think that we see only the outside and if we can get a glimpse of what a person is truly like we'll see that the two don't always blend. The movie "Shallow Hal" illustrates this quite nicely, I think, when Hal is given the chance to see people as they are inside. A quite beautiful woman looks hideous because she is selfish and greedy, while someone who is very unattractive looks very handsome because they are loving and compassionate and generous.

And truth be told, don't we all have flaws? Mine are just so obvious that it's easy to make a snap judgement of me. Others can hide theirs easier. I think if we can overcome our fears and be open with each other we can learn, truly learn, that we are all brothers and sisters. Discrimination of any kind is wrong, and we know that. But sometimes we need to be reminded. These old adages like "you can't judge a book by its cover" hang on year after year because they are true.

I just wanted to say that if you have a problem with someone give them a chance. Maybe they are dealing with something you know nothing about. A good friend of mine used to say that if you scratched the surface of anyone you will find a hero underneath. We're all heroes, doing the best we can in this life. We all want to love and be loved, we all want to be seen and heard for who we are, not what we are.

I hope I can do that. I know I'm going to try.

3 comments:

Rach said...

Maureen, I LOVED this post. It reminds me of one of my favorite poems:

If I knew you, and you knew me
If both of us could clearly see,
and with an inner light divine,
the meaning of your heart and mine-
I'm sure that we would differ less
and clasp our hands in friendliness;
Our thoughts would pleasantly agree
If I knew you and you knew me.

If I knew you and you knew me
As each one knows his own self, we
could look each other in the face
and see therein a truer grace.
Life has so many hidden woes,
so many thorns for every rose;
the why of things our hearts would see-
IF I knew you and you knew me.

Deep down I think people are good, but you're right, snap judgements and insecurities get in the way of what could really be good friendships.

Maureen said...

Rachel's poem says it all! If I had known it I would have posted it instead of my ramblings.

Thank you for sharing.

Tara said...

Again...THIS is reason # one billion why I like to be around you!