The most missed opportunity to better ourselves

Many people believe that the reason for living is to better their personal situations and give their children the things in life that they did not have growing up.  This is one of the biggest lies anyone can tell themselves and others who will listen.  The reason for life is not a selfish quest but a deep desire to better yourself and be that person you had always dreamed yourself to be.  It is to demonstrate to others who are watching how you have achieved this feat by setting the example by every single action you take or inaction that you don’t take.  Your children do not need material things to be the best that they can be, they only need a little of your time, your understanding, your love and your directions to have the tools necessary to live a full and rewarding life.  That should be the primary reason we work so very hard to accomplish that one feat that would grant them all these things in one single act.  That should be the primary reason we work so very hard to become a better person.

The number one missed opportunity for us to do this is when we are told to believe or forced to believe that our differences is what makes us superior or inferior to each other.  It’s the lesson passed on to us by cowards who refused to expand their knowledge of others by simply asking the question of why they feel as they do and why they think as they do.  One can never grow as a person if all they are surrounded with is like-minded people.  Those who agree with each and everything you do or say adds nothing to your life and only ends up making you more stubborn, selfish and ignorant in the long run.  Consider this; if you have no other around you that can clearly present the other side of the argument then how can you honestly say you have considered all sides before making your decision about what you believe?  How can you honestly say that your beliefs and ideas are well informed if they only come from one side and you refuse to even consider for a moment the other side of that issue?

All of us should strive to make ourselves better but this will never ever happen if all those who we surround ourselves wish think exactly as we do.  That person who has differences of opinion is not an enemy; they are a present from God to finally get a whole sense of the topic.  The person who presents a difference of ideas is not someone you need to shut down but one you truly need to seat down with unless of course your purpose is not to better yourself nor allow others to better themselves.  You shut down a voice different from your’s and you leave yourself no other alternative than to eventually become obsolete, rare and forgotten.  The most memorable of all people are not those who stuck to an idea or belief even after being presented with its errors, the most memorable people are those who listen to as many different sides of the issue as existed, then formed, modified or completely changed their positions based on the new knowledge that they obtained simply by listening.  Could it be that we are actually afraid of becoming a better person thus we shut off or shut down those who may be able to allow us to reach even higher heights?  Could it be that arrogance is next to ignorance and we are so arrogant that we welcome ignorance instead of repel it?  Could it be that we really do not want a peaceful and joyous life, that we actually fear becoming a better person because when we do, if we do, then what would we have to complain about?