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Rather than discuss the possibilities of making money or earning additional financial wealth, today I wish to discuss the possibilities of opening one’s mind to ideas and concepts that may be beyond your present belief system.

Again, today I will continue with the theme of having the courage to face the truth.  Most of us like to think that we are open minded.  However, each of us have biases and prejudices.  We either shun people who are overweight — and yes, we have all said something about being “fat” — or we have a confrontation with someone of a different race and for that reason alone we develop a prejudice against, not only that person, but an entire race of people.

Others of us may know someone whose spouse cheated on him or her and we cannot wait to share our disdain and judgments via gossip.  Still others of us are so deeply devoted to our religious beliefs that we will not even discuss the possibilities of other religions.  Of course, we have all been told not to discuss politics, race or religion by our parents.  Perhaps, having been told not to discuss something is the key to our prejudices.

Unfortunately, most of us feel the need to make our beliefs known and refuse to listen to other opinions and possibilities.  Today I suggest that each of us, while we are comfortable in our own beliefs, take the time to listen — LISTEN — to other opinions.  This is not to suggest that any one is right or wrong, but getting another perspective can be helpful.

I bring this up because of an incident that recently happened to a friend.  She is Catholic.  While she is devout in her beliefs when she encountered someone from a Protestant religion, it was amazing to me that the Protestant person (and I’m not knocking Protestants or Catholics) had a preconceived notion of what the Catholic lady believed.  As they discussed going to church, etc. it became evident that the Protestant woman was not willing to listen to anything the Catholic said.  I felt sad for both.

The point is that most of us have been brought up to believe one thing or another.  That is what parents do.  They teach us.  But, in today’s world, I suggest that whether the topic is religion or race or sexual orientation, we open our minds and listen.  We do not have to change our beliefs.  However, by listening and learning we may gain a different perspective.  And, what could that hurt?

The real benefit of listening and learning is that if we do not change our own beliefs, we may learn tolerance for those different from us.  Think about that for a minute.  What if you could meet someone different from yourself and see the good, something positive, rather than raising the wall that separates you.