CoExistance--A Life Equalizer

"To live together without hostility or conflict."

The goal of peacemaking is a world where we can live--exist--together. As we come to the end of 2009, a time of real spiritual insights, it is time to make the commitment to the idea that this world is built for all of us. Can we? Are we ready to? I personally think we have no choice. But, there are a few points I'd like to establish first.
You can't coexist without engaging. I am always out of my comfort zone except when I am with family and friends. The reason is that family and friends know me. I know them. It is not perfect, by any means, but the comfort lies in our love. We learn in our many religious traditions to love one another. But, many of our traditions also ask us to love our enemies. I believe that enemies are those we don't find comfort in. And that one should try to make enemies into friends--into the comfort zones of our lives. That takes engagement. Until we learn to engage, we have such an uneasy peace and uneasy peace can lead to the hostility that hampers coexistence.
Coexistence is not simply tolerance. Just the other day, someone said to me that he tolerated the way in which I took notes of our meetings. I knew the minute I heard the words that I was being insulted. I felt patronized. I felt that the uneasy peace that goes with not talking through the problems. It is similar to a blog I wrote about agreeing to disagree. That doesn't work for me and I guess it never will. I believe that tolerance leaves a void that says "we are not engaged" and I definitely believe that I don't want to agree to disagree, I'd rather agree to try and understand.
To coexist means "living" ... and to live means to embrace life. When we coexist we are truly embracing all that life has to offer. The strengths inherent in our diversity is what life is all about. If someone says, "I don't see color," I'm suspicious of that person who, I believe, wants the uneasy peace rather than the hard-earned peace. Uneasy peace, which can fracture at any moment, is not the goal of coexistence. Rather it thwarts our ability to coexist.
When I was a little girl, my mother would leave for work after kissing me with her frosty lips of red, marking my lips with a little color, too. I would send her off with a "See you later, alligator." To my delight that still makes me smile, she would respond, "After while, chocolate child." Can you imagine not recognizing the colors of roses--yellow, white, red? Would you fail to notice the color of the sky during a sunrise or sunset? I live for the creative paintbrush of God who made us all so different. God's gift to us is in each of us and it is marvelous in God's sight. It should be in ours, too. After all, God does love the whole world and I'm convinced that it is without any exceptions.
Peace.