People in Our Lives by Chelle Cordero

“No one can cross the path that is your life without
leaving some footprints behind” ~ Chelle Cordero

It is my belief that every person we encounter in our life changes us, sometimes significantly and sometimes barely. We have conversations where we can learn, we bump shoulders and get attitudes, we share a special smile and their cologne lingers. Later we smell the cologne and automatically smile, we see someone frown and we think of our annoyance, or we suddenly have an answer to someone’s query and can’t remember where we learned it.

There are strange friendships formed with random people. We find ourselves enjoying discussions and look forward to our next chance meeting. What is the reason these people are placed in our paths? Is there a higher power controlling these encounters? Or is it just plain simple chance? Whatever the reason for these acquaintances it helps us to grow and learn, and we should be grateful for these experiences. When we listen as well as talk we open our minds, we learn, and we think. We engage in conversations that interest us and these are the opportunities where we can immerse ourselves in topics that might not normally be part of our everyday existence.

While I do not like the vitriol that often accompanies political arguments before elections, I do enjoy the well-informed sharing of ideas. For the most part I admit that there has been no FaceBook discussion that has changed my mind about who to vote for, but when these cyber friends are willing to share researched and verified facts I like to absorb the information, and it is especially welcomed when they are willing to listen to other verified facts, even those that present another view; for me I have more clarity and confidence in my perspective and decisions.
And while you may ask how we both present true facts and yet still disagree on our chosen candidate, we each have priorities and what may be important to me is not necessarily the most important to someone else. In Junior High School I had a teacher who taught us how to debate by arguing the side we did not believe in; he said that it taught us how to see things from other viewpoints and it certainly did.

Of course the people I believe have had the most influence in my life are my immediate family members: my parents, my sister, my husband and my children. These are the people who have taught me how to love unconditionally and still feel entitled to my own opinions. My parents, now long gone, left me lessons that help me work out problems and challenges even now, many years later. My family has shown me that true love means seeing someone’s faults and Laurels and still knowing how deeply you need and love that person.

My daughter once countered me during a disagreement by saying that we had only ourselves to blame for raising our children to think “for themselves”, something which, to be perfectly honest, I greatly respect them for. I learn from each member by hearing and seeing things through their ears and eyes. So as they have thought for themselves and married people just as headstrong, they have easily shared their opinions and given us lots of “food for thought”.

Value every person that you cross paths with. Every person adds something to your life even if it was just a momentary contact. Treasure the good experiences and rely on those memories when you need encouragement — and, while I hope they are few and far between, use the negative moments to help you make decisions which will avoid the disappointments in the future.

Expanding Your Sphere of Acquaintances

3 Reasons It’s Wise To Spend Time With Those
Who Are Different From Us

Americans may be living in an echo chamber.

Several studies have revealed that – given the choice – many people prefer the company of those who share their political or religious leanings, and are downright antagonist toward those who are the most different from them.

As recently as 2014, a Pew Research Center study showed that 63 percent of consistent conservatives and 49 percent of consistent liberals say their close friends share their political views. That same study revealed half of conservatives and 35 percent of liberals say it’s important to live where people share their political views.

Another Pew survey indicated that evangelicals and atheists have an especially chilly attitude toward each other.

“We don’t seem willing to get outside our comfort zones when it comes to making friends,” says Kevin Moody, a conservative Christian and author of “The Battle of Fort Rock” (http://www.amazon.com/The-Battle-Fort-Rock-State/dp/1482039362), a novel that explores that theme using a real-life controversy that happened during the 20th anniversary of the Kent State shootings.

“That unwillingness to listen to opposing ideas can cause us to carry around pre-conceived notions about each other. We might find that we have more in common than we realize if we would open up to each other and listen.

“For example, you might ask, ‘Should a good Christian hang around with hippies, punk rockers and millennials?’ My answer would be, ‘Absolutely.’ ”He includes millennials in that equation mostly because he thinks older generations are too quick to discount the views of the young.

“We have every right to maintain our values, but remaining in our bubble of judgment is good for no one,” he says.

Moody offers three reasons why expanding our sphere of acquaintances is worthwhile:

• It helps us better understand others. Everyone has heard the old saying about not judging someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. “We may not get a chance to experience exactly what they experienced,” Moody says. “But we can still reach out to them and try to understand them.”

• It challenges what we believe. Often people become locked into their views and don’t even think about why they believe what they believe any more. “Maybe what we believe made sense at one time, but now it may no longer be relevant,” Moody says. “Maybe we were right then and still are today. Or maybe we were wrong all along.”

• It broadens our perspective. “We don’t grow intellectually if we aren’t prepared to have our assumptions challenged,” Moody says. “The world’s a complex place with a lot of fascinating people. What they have to say can be worth listening to.”

Moody began to realize the drawbacks of associating only with like-minded people when he was a graduate student at Kent State University in 1990.

The college was marking the 20th anniversary of what has come to be known as the Kent State massacre, when Ohio National Guard troops shot and killed four young people during an anti-war protest on May 4, 1970.

Construction of a memorial on campus became controversial because it was scaled back from original plans and was more of a mini-memorial.

Moody initially thought those who were upset – people with different political and religious views than him – were overreacting. But as he got to know these counter-cultural people he viewed as hippies, he began to see their point of view.

“I was able to broaden my perspective,” Moody says, “but only because I was willing to spend time with and listen to people who didn’t see things my way.”

The Battle of Fort Rock by Kevin L Moody

About Kevin Moody

Kevin Moody earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and math from Indiana University and a Master of Science degree in physics from Ball State University. While studying physics as a graduate student at Kent State University, Moody had a transformational experience on May 4, 1990, when the university drastically scaled back a ceremony memorializing the Kent State tragedy 20 years earlier. An atheist-turned-conservative-Christian, Moody experienced a profound bond with people unlike him – counter-cultural hippies – during protests at the university. His book, “The Battle of Fort Rock” (http://www.amazon.com/The-Battle-Fort-Rock-State/dp/1482039362), details his spiritual journey.