Tolerance, Acceptance, and Celebration

We often speak of tolerance. Of tolerating difference, of tolerating what is strange to us, of tolerating things that make us uncomfortable.

Often, the spirit calls us to be more than tolerant. Sometimes it calls us to acceptance. To tolerate something is to allow it to exist, to be near you, to be visible, despite your reservations or discomfort. To accept something is to recognise its existence and value, its validity as equal with your own.

Sometimes, the spirit calls us to be more than acceptant. It calls us to celebrate. While acceptance recognises the value and validity of a thing, celebration affirms it, openly rejoicing in its presence.

Celebration allows you to learn more than acceptance, as it requires openness to see more.
Celebration is an act of love, and love given and returned is love increased.
Celebration of difference opens the heart to the spirit in new ways.

Celebrate one another, and celebrate your differences. Celebrate the different people and cultures around you, that you may know them and love them and learn all that can be learned. Celebrate that we share our world, our neighbourhoods, our Meetings and our lives with such richness.

It is better to celebrate than to mourn.

Written September 2017