The other day, I was walking around an area that had garden rocks and I started picking some up, with different colors, shapes, and textures. It then immediately occurred to me that all these rocks were in the same garden, co-existing, for one purpose, adding an aesthetic to the landscape. I started to examine the differences more carefully and even though some had jagged edges or some were smooth, they all had one thing in common…they were garden rocks.

Isn’t that how we are as well? We are all human, but all individuals, from different backgrounds, ethnicity and cultures living on the same planet. It’s really beautiful if you think about it. We are one of the few animal species in the world that has such diversity. From various languages and dialects to our physical traits, we are so different! Yet, we are also much the same in one way or another.

Since the world-wide Covid-19 pandemic, humanity seems to have come closer together. Some of you may be tilting your head and say, “what?” “Really?” Yes! Look at what Italy experienced and how they came together as an entire country! The rest of the world watched as the country united to support and help one another. As the virus spread, so did our need to connect more with our friends and families from afar. Our world was experiencing a terrifying situation that affected everyone; something we haven’t seen since the early 1900’s with the Spanish Flu. We all wanted to help, connect, pray, and just be one with each other.

Then a terrible tragedy occurred in the United States when some police officers murdered a man named George Floyd. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. However, my belief is due to our heightened sense of community in a quarantined environment and coming together during the health crisis, this situation really hit home for so many of us.

The entire black community, and others that supported them came together to fight against this wrongful death. Unfortunately, the community that was trying to spread awareness of respect turned ugly. Peaceful protests became angry mobs. It wasn’t like that everywhere, but unfortunately, the actions of some tainted what was to be considered a continued discussion on civil rights and justice. I am sad to say, we have yet to come together as a united community, BUT I AM NOT LOSING HOPE!

We are all human. We may be different in our upbringing, our race, our language, our looks, our sexuality, etc., but the one common denominator we share is we are a human species who, for the majority of us living on this fine earth, are seeking goodness, justice, love and compassion. We want to live in a world where we are respected not because of our stature, but because of our nature…our essence…our souls.

We are not perfect. We all have flaws and jagged edges, just like the rocks I described. But together, we can make a wonderful community of diversity and challenge one another to be better to one another, lift each other up and stand by our fellow human being in times of turmoil and despair.

If a bunch of different rocks can be placed in a garden and co-exist without falling apart, why can’t we do the same?