As I briefly mentioned in my about section I hope to write about a variety of things much of which will likely involve things like justice and faith (with random quotes thrown in just for good measure). At this point I’m doing much of this simply to organize whatever reading and research I do on the random subjects I like to ponder on. Another one of my main motivations for starting this blog now however has to do with my interest in looking more into why history often repeats itself, often to the world’s detriment, when in comes to hurting others and ultimately ourselves. I see many things happening in our world today that seems like we (individuals, organizations and governments around the world) are bent towards doing damage to others (generally those unlike us) on a massive scale. While I hope I am wrong I still want to keep researching and studying and learning from the past so that I will recognize destructive patterns as they develop and hopefully be able to use that knowledge to stop whatever damage is being attempted or accomplished around me.

One solution I believe that could help minimize the pain and tragedy many fear coming would be through learning to empathize with people who are not like us ( in appearance, beliefs systems, economic status, ect.). This seems to be something many of us, myself included, seem to struggle with. I get that most of us don’t see much point in understanding other points of view. I mean there is a reason we believe or think the way we do so why let anyone else confuse us with other information that could make us realize we could be wrong about something? I have nothing against people holding to their convictions. As someone who seeks to follow Christ I certainly have a few. However the more I’ve traveled, met people, read and studied viewpoints different from my own the more I’ve come to appreciate just how much I have to learn especially from those different from me. Different doesn’t automatically equal wrong. It really does (and should) change a person to step into another’s story and at least try to imagine what life is like for them and why they have the perspective they have.

In trying to implement this in my own life I hope to grow in empathy and compassion while continuing to cultivate a genuine interest in understanding where other people are coming from. I also want to continue to listen and learn while sharing some of my personal experiences with the intention of challenging others to think beyond their own experiences as I have tried to do over the years. I don’t claim to have many answers. But I would like to offer at least some of the many questions I’ve struggled with in the hopes that if anyone comes across these posts it will also leave them questioning, thinking and yet perhaps still hopeful.