Pastoral Pearls: Cultural Diversity
Today is National Cultural Diversity Day.
“We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity, life would be very boring.” ~ Catherine Pulsifer
I love the feeling of being unique, one of a kind, a special creation from God. I also am so intrigued with other people’s uniqueness! It is fun, interesting, fascinating! Well, yes, it can get kind of tricky when I work with people of other cultures – different ideas, maybe different values, maybe different ways of doing things.
I am set in my ways sometimes, just like the next person, and I like to be right, or at least think my way is the right way. But when I do open my mind, I am so often amazed and surprised by the value and wisdom of a new perspective, how they have perceptions that I might never have seen, or by their incredible insight. I may not fully understand them, but by trying to understand their perceptions, I learn so much, am so enriched, and begin to feel blessed by knowing them.
There are some very enriching ways that each of us can try to celebrate Diversity Day, I found on the National Days Site:
Visit an art exhibition or a museum dedicated to other cultures
- Learn about another religion
- Watch an International film
- Listen to a musical tradition from a different culture
- Play a sport related to a different culture (Karate, Criquet)
- Cook traditional food from a different culture
- Learn about traditional celebrations from other cultures
- Volunteer with an organization working for diversity and inclusion
- Learn another language
I challenge you and myself to pick at least one to try out, and do our part to bridge the gap between diverse cultures and move toward a more peaceful and colorful and possibly effective world. After all:
“A lot of different flowers make a bouquet.” ~ Islamic Proverb
Loving God, help me to embrace the diversity You created within all of humankind.
We have so much to offer to one another and so much to be gained from each other.
May I be an active part of creating a more “colorful” world where we look as much to what we have in common, rather than what might be different amongst us.
Holy Spirit inspire me to thoroughly enjoy those differences between us, and celebrate how you use these to create a more loving community.
Thank you for the adventure of exploring how my uniqueness might compliment and support other cultures within my community, as well as the uniqueness's of other cultures.
May we work together to create a more colorful world of Your love.
~ Amen