TheBanyanTree: The Women I am Not-Redux

[Dee]

Pam said of Maria:

>Anyway.  While the woman in Maria can cringe and detest some things for
>herself, that same woman can still stand taller and cheer the loudest for
>the woman in others doing those exact same things.
>

And maybe what we're really celebrating here is, as the French would 
say, "Viva la difference!"  The good part is, we're celebrating with the 
sure and certain knowledge that being different is neither good nor bad. 
It's just ... different.

Well, wait. It's not *just* different. It's also enriching for each of 
us. It expands our experiences, adds layers and dimensions and depth to 
our perspective on the world. If we see someone else color outside the 
lines and note that lightning doesn't strike them dead, we know we, too, 
can safely color outside the lines. Even if we don't want to or never 
choose to try, that option has been displayed.

Difference is stimulating. It shows us alternatives we could never have 
conceived alone. It tickles our imaginations and allows us to devise 
differences others would not conceive alone.

Difference fluffs up what has gone flat, fills what has emptied and gone 
hollow, and clears the playing field for a new and fresher run.

Difference is not gender-specific. All men are not alike (thank you, 
God), nor are all women. All *people* are one-of-a-kind, sometimes 
blatantly so, sometimes subtly. Which gives us choices. Which allows us 
to add to our personal circles those individuals who resonate most 
harmoniously with our own individuality.

Differences allow us to enjoy what we, ourselves, are not comfortable 
doing. There is something to be said for vicarious enjoyments. 
Otherwise, why read a good book? In a way, differences allow us to lead 
more than one life because, even if we don't do certain things or go 
certain places, we are given the gift of second-hand experience so we 
can get a hint of what it might be like on the road we didn't take. 
Without differences, all roads would be flat and straight and numbingly 
dull.

I figure every time someone posts here in the Tree, I'm given a gift of 
Blessed Difference. Someone is sharing a viewpoint, an experience, a 
laugh or a tear from an angle I never achieved. I thank you for it. 
Please, tree dwellers, keep right on being wonderfully different.

Hugs, Dee...a horse of a different color, a rose by another name...you 
may step back cautiously now...don't make any sudden moves that would 
cause me to attack...helpful hint: chocolate prevents horrible accidents...