16,800 Minutes

     A friend of mine posted on Facebook today that we have 16,800 minutes left of this school year.  She also said that we have only eight Mondays.  Some  friends said they liked the sound of only eight Mondays, and others said they liked 16,800 minutes better.  Aren't these interesting comments?  Perspective...that's what it all boils down to.  Everything that we experience, do, say, or think is colored by our own personal perspectives.  Not a profound thought, I know, but still it's one worth thinking about.

     How many times have I misunderstood someone or have they misunderstood me because of our different perspectives?  How many times have wars started because of our different perspectives?  How many divorces, slanders, fights...?  It seems to me that we could avoid all sorts of uncomfortable, negative situations by being willing to stop and seriously consider someone else's perspective.  I know that my BFF Jeannine has several times told me that a perspective or two of mine that I had always assumed everyone shared were actually not universal.  I was surprised...I mean really surprised!  

     When I say that we should seriously consider someone else's perspective, I'm not suggesting that we agree with it or even necessarily validate it, but we should consider it.  I am not the only intelligent, rational being on the planet, but if I refuse to even consider someone else's perspective, then I might as well be suggesting that I am.  I mean, that's a "my way or the highway" kind of position to take.  I'm not that vain, or arrogant, or stupid. I'm reminded of a chastisement that Benjamin Franklin gave to John Adams when they were arguing for independence, and he was taking Adams to task about his attitude toward those who were against independence.  He reminded Adams that these were proud, intelligent, accomplished men whom he "could not order around like ribbon clerks."  He was reminding him of different perspectives.

     Having said that, there are some perspectives that I refuse to change because I know down to my core that they are right and true.  I know that Jesus Christ is the son of God and is the  only means available for salvation and eternal life in total communion with the Father.  I know that murder is wrong.  I know that child abuse is evil.  I know that deliberate cruelty toward any creation of God's is evil.  I know that cruelty, and vulgarity, and rudeness are wrong.  I know that bigotry toward someone of another race, creed, religion, gender, social class, etc. is wrong.  I know that trying to judge another's heart is wrong.  There are many things that I know to be wrong, but those are not original perspectives with me.  They are, whether you are a Christian or not, God's perspectives.  They are things that he has written on all of our hearts, whether we are Christian, or Jew, or Muslim, or atheist and whether we know or not that that's where those perspectives came from.  Some things we just know are wrong whether we ever admit it out loud or not; we still know.  We may not act on them, but we know.

   So, I like the sound of 16,800 minutes instead of eight Mondays because minutes are shorter than weeks, and 16,800 minutes makes me feel that summer vacation is truly "just around the corner."