A Matter of Opinion

Greetings!

I love Lee Ann Womack's "I hope you dance".  The lyrics by Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers are thought provoking and inspirational.  It is truly a great song.

Recently I listened to the song on You Tube.  One person wrote that the writers should have used the word "big" instead of "small" in the song.

                  I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
                  I hope you still feel   big   when you stand beside the ocean

I found the comment interesting.  I could see where the comment came from as well as the song writers point of view.  It was a matter of opinion.  There was no right or wrong.  In Dec. 2007, we lived in a state by the ocean.  Our younger son and daughter-in-law visited us during Christmas.  All of us went for a walk on the beach one day.  At one point, we stood there looking at the boundless ocean and the vast open space above.  For a brief moment, I was totally absorbed by the greatness of nature, and lost the sense of self.

My husband and I are quite different in personality and temperament.  As a result, we see things differently, and handle things differently.  For instance, the other day we came out of a store, he said, "We buy very little.  How does it cost so much!"  My immediate response was, "What?!  I was just thinking 'Wow! We buy that many things, and it does not cost much!"  As the words came out of my mouth, I realized our opposite views.  I looked at my husband, and acknowledged our difference with a joyful smile.

It was a good thing that I could smile about our different opinions now.  Honestly, there had been many times that we got upset over our difference in opinions.

In our earlier years, my husband always wanted to park close to the entrance of a store.  He drove round and round just to find such a parking space.  During busy shopping days, it could easily mean 20 to 30 minutes.  I saw it as unnecessary.  We were healthy.  We could walk if we parked a distance away.  When I voiced my opinion, he got upset and said I was unappreciative.  He said he did it for me so that I did not have to walk far.  In his view, it was better to let the car 'do the walking'.  He continued his way of looking for a parking space while I got annoyed occasionally over the driving around.  Eventually, I felt that it was so minor that I should not get mad over it.  So I decided to let it go.

I did not remember how long he went on this way.  One day, he had to park farther down the lane.  As he turned off the engine, he said in a way of explaining to me or himself, "It is alright.  We can walk.  Walking is good for us, isn't it?"  Since that day, he was not that fixated on where to park anymore.

In life, it is our lesson to learn to accept how the others are and move on in our relationships from there especially with those who are close to us.  It is in divine order that we are all unique and different.  It is alright to have a different opinion, and we do not have to agree on everything.  However, when we come together as a family, a society, a nation, and the world as a whole to work on our common goals for the betterment of all, we do need to put aside our differences or 'my way is the only way'.  In our case, no matter how different we may be, we love our family, and, we never lose sight of our priorities.

Many blessings,
Q of D