And were it possible
that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like
this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy
curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is
there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;
Not Like Others
7/26/07
Only one of many
Watching as numbers
surge and swell and decline all around.
Wondering where I
fit in.
Many ways I turn I
see places where others have made room.
For spaces of time I
welcome the welcome,
But I keep watching
for the place that is mine.
Few understand this
urge for different.
I am not like
others.
Others look for any
fitting place and then seek to fit their choice.
I seek the place
that is mine.
I have learned that
to fit the places other seek and see,
The part that is me must be cut away.
Though I have often
wondered why I am,
I have just as often
discovered the drive to protect what is me.
I do not understand
what that is, or why it should be so foreign
That so many shy
away from it or attack with scorn in fear.
All I know is that I
am not like others.
Understanding this
in junior high made life a lot easier for me.
I did not have to feel like I had to fit in, like I needed to fit the
patterns of the people around me. As a past bishop once taught, expectations
can cause complications if we set them beyond healthy bounds. His point was
more that we would find discouragement in failing expectations we could not
realistically have achieved under our personal ability to ensure. I think this
applies also to our place in the world and society around us. When we accept
that we don't have to be like others, we will prove less susceptible to
peer-pressure. The one place where I was vulnerable was at home, but in the
past years I have learned I don't have to be like them or fit into the place
they demanded either. And it feels good to know that I'm original.
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