The more things are different...

the more they stay the same!

That thought stuck me at Shout Louder last Friday. For one thing, Pastor Dave said that each of us is unique and that we should never compare ourselves to anyone. I found that very true and inspiring.

In life, there will always be someone better than you. You might be good at one thing but there are others who are better than you at other things. Unfortunately, most people only see what others are better then them at. As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. But why do we torture ourselves so?

Each of us go through life our own way. No one will ever have the exact same experiences as you. Brothers can have the same family but live totally different lives. Friends in the same class can still go through school differently. A loving couple who goes through all difficulties together will experience different things.

For example, say we get 2nd place in a competition. We naturally will look up to the champion and ask ourselves why we are not as good as him/her. The fact we haven't consider though, is how long it took them to reach that greatness. The fact is, while it may take you 10 years to do something great, it may take someone else 5 years to do the exact same thing. At the same time, there are those who might only reach your current level after 20 years! Each of us learn things at our own pace.

Sometimes, we don't realize this due to the various messages the world throws at us. The world is always saying that only one way is right. That everyone must follow the system. Whoever who doesn't is instantly labeled crazy, insane. Imagine a world where everyone was the same. How boring!

It's hard to see the uniqueness in us. We always want to be like someone else. We want to live the life that someone else is living because it seems so much better. But, we will never be able to because we are different from them! We want to fit in. We want others to think highly of us. How can we fit in? We are different from one another. There is no way we are able to copy someone just so that they might like us. In fact, they might even get creeped out. There is no such thing as normal. What we might think is normal might be strange to someone else.

In fact, we should celebrate the differences between people! That's the only way we can get different ideas, different opinions and different point of views. Just as we need to see a building from every angle to fully appreciate the architecture, we need to see issues from every angle to fully understand it.

One good example is Formula One. I find it a little boring due to the lack of real differences between the teams. Each team does the same strategy; race as fast as I can and take as little pit-stops as needed. However, look at football/soccer. Different teams play differently, use different strategies. Some teams prefer to defend and hit on the counter-attack. Some prefer to attack all out and hope to score more goals then the opponent. Even for attacking, there are various options. Crossing in from the flanks or taking the direct route through the middle are just 2 of the many choices available. Each is good and none is better than the others. Depending on the type of players, different tactics work.

Interestingly, people seem to enjoy difference even if they loathe being different. Rules for games are constantly changed in order that no one team or one strategy dominates. You can even say that being different is what makes life interesting.

So if that is the case, why do we still want to be the same as everyone else? It's an idiotic fantasy. If our DNA, the core of who we are, is unique per person, how can we ever be a carbon copy of someone else? We live our life and no one else can live it for us. Neither can they ever live it for themselves.

Hahahaha.... okay, that's enough crapping now. Celebrate differences!!