Interactions

I was talking to someone at work today about how we treat people, especially those we work with and it was interesting.  We got to talking about how organizations are set up so people are at different levels in the organization.  I see that somehow this, to a lot of people, means we treat people differently depending on where they are.  I learned a long time ago that this is not the way I want to be with others.  In any work environment everyone is there because they have a role to play in the success of the organization.  I truly believe we need to treat people that way.  My co-worker was talking about how everyone wants to feel like they are contributing and respected no matter what level they are at.  I love this way of looking at things.

By extension, I got to thinking about how we treat anyone we think is better or worse than us. The truth is that we all have our stories to tell and we all have joy and sorrow in our stories.  This is often hard to remember and it is oh so tempting to look down on people or be intimidated by people for no reason other then their "place" in society.

Now that I find myself part of at least 2 groups of people that are often looked down on - those with mental illness and gay people - my conviction that we should treat people as people is stronger.  It's not that we need to be friends with everyone, or even accept their choices, but just to know that we will never know the whole story behind who they are.  This to me is a critical piece of how I want to view the world.  I know from my own experience that the essential of who I am hasn't changed because of better understanding myself and I am sure this is true of others as well.