Dear friends and fellow Earth Citizens:

Many people are experiencing intense degrees of anger, pain and hurt. I accept all views from all people. Each of us knows what we know due to and as a result of our life experiences. I make a specific, intentional and conscious choice to accept all people and their views, whenever humanely possible, as I embrace, accept and understand, that despite, or in spite of, any opinions, thoughts, ideas, beliefs or words, that there is a human within each of us who is hurting in some way, and simply that we are all doing the best we can to cope. I would like to propose a not so radical idea. It is not radical to me, however perhaps to many it will be. I choose to accept and embrace all people whenever possible. This is why on my feed today, I have repeatedly read starkly opposing statements about the state of the world, mostly from people I embrace as Earth Citizens and community members and peers (human peers) and while I cannot tolerate to read much of any of what is being said, as the words are full of intense pain and suffering, perhaps just from different perspectives, I do accept we are all doing our best to cope with living in an angry, painful and hurting world. My not so radical idea is that I strive to live in a world in which if each person can find it within ourselves, to connect with others, even if we disagree on so many things, to connect on the one thing (if there is only, I sense there are many) that we do connect on and relate with and to another person. Even something as potentially benign and simple as a mutual love for cats. If we can connect on a core love within us for cats, then let us do this. Perhaps if we can break the ice talking about our mutual love for cats, we can consider engaging each other on more challenging topics yet to do so with a bit more comfort, acceptance, desire and willingness to communicate while engaging and interacting with each other by conveying respect, honor, dignity and with reverence for our centuries of lived experiences in these lives, far beyond what the calendar documents as our years alive. When we can connect in these ways and convey love for each other, there is very little that we cannot do to work together to live in a happier and healthier world, and to live our lives with more peace and love and creating the true reality that each one of us has the human power within ourselves, to chose to do this, and thus, when we make these choices; BETTER DAYS.

- Craig Lewis 11/14/15

(please share freely yet tag and credit - thank you)