“We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; that human life is the work, the play, the ceaseless action and reaction upon each other of these different atoms. Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it; with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it…”
– Mary Baker Eddy
Putting the Puzzle Back Together Again
We both hold pieces to the puzzle –
you have yours and I have mine
and to solve the puzzle we need
to come together and share
what we know and work as a team.
You say “stick to the facts” and tell
me you don’t need to listen
to what I have to share, but you do
and I do, too, if we want to put
all the pieces of the puzzle in place.
I agree you are an expert on your
bits of the puzzle, but you are not
an expert on mine. You have not
lived my life, seen what I’ve seen,
or learned what I’ve learned.
So let’s share, shall we? You share
your perspective, and I’ll share mine,
and we’ll learn from each other.
I’m thinking we can only gain from
this. Gain in understanding of
America. Gain in understanding of life.
– Karen Molenaar Terrell
Adventures of the Madcap Christian Scientist 