There are around 7.3 billion people in this planet. We interact with about 3 to 20 new people daily 365 days in a year. That’s around 80,000 people that we interact with every year. That is a whole lot of people. And every day we meet and interact with new people. We all see from different perspectives and even those can change. We make relationships with people all the time. We get hurt and we forgive. Our experiences in life are so crazy and diverse that no two people can come out of this life with all the same opinions. And while at times, that makes people argue and resent each other, it is also so amazing because it brings so many unique views to the table. All of my life, I’ve been convinced that Heavenly Father is an artist. He created us and shaped our lives. We meet people and have new experiences, everything and everyone adds something to the painting. Some people paint with colors that are a couple shades darker or lighter than others, the additions are all shaped differently. But everyone adds their part to your life. And it is hard because you don’t have control over what they choose to add. But you do get to choose how to work with it. You can either leave them as they are, you can try to cover them, or you can make the painting look better because of them. You can take that part of the painting and make it beautiful. When people are interacting with you and leaving their pieces, it is important to try to understand them. Because no two people are ever going to be exactly the same. Everyone has different perceptions. They have lived different lives, they have different views. A lot of the time their different views can help us realize things that we would have never thought of. Of course we are going to disagree with some people. But don’t tune out once you realize their views differ from yours. Don’t raise your voice and refuse to listen. A lot of issues can be resolved by just listening. Maybe you’ll learn something too. But listening isn’t synonymous with agreeing. I think we sometimes think that listening to someone means that they are going to do or think whatever we ask them to. Another thing I think we really need to be aware of is the use of technology. I think technology has been increasingly taking away from interaction. All the time I see people so engrossed in their phones that they forget to look up and acknowledge the people that are sitting right in front of them. While I do think technology is a blessing and can be used to enhance the quality of life, I also think that it can do quite the opposite and distract us from what we should be focusing on. It is up to us to recognize if and when we begin to value technology over human interaction.
Assumption and lack of communication is another thing to be aware of. I think we often forget that not everyone sees things the same way we do. People seem to assume that others will understand things even when they are left unexplained. Although it would be nice if everyone would automatically be able to see things how you do, that is not always the case. Sometimes we are going to have to be patient and explain our views in order for others to see what we see. Along with lack of communication, we often cut off others before they have gotten a chance to say what they want to convey to us. I think once we hear someone say something that we don’t agree with, we immediately put up a wall and stop listening. I struggle with this sometimes, but it’s important to hear the other person out and not interrupt them. It can be so frustrating when other people don't listen to you but it's even worse when they don't let you speak to begin with. When this happens, try to be patient but don't ever say anything when you get angry that you'll regret later. I think today we needlessly put ourselves into these roles and we don’t always act like ourselves. Life isn’t a play. We are not assigned to roles or labels. Authentic human interactions become impossible when you lose yourself in a role. It is important not to pretend to be something we aren’t. A lot of the time, it is hard to get to know new people because you don’t know their history, you don’t know what they do or like. Sometimes we don’t allow people to get to know us because we want to be seen a certain way. But I think that takes away the sincerity of a relationship because one person is solely themselves, but the other is not. A good relationship shouldn’t be based on how well people like us in a certain role, but should be solely based on how others appreciate and value you for who you are. In the end, it’s essential to remember that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and everyone has a purpose in this life. We are all loved by our Heavenly Father more than we know. He loves us even with our imperfections. And He wants us to love others unconditionally as He loves us.
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My name is Ellie. I am a sophomore at BYU Idaho. I am excited to live life and to share a small piece of it with you!
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