I have been grappling with a matter that has me mildly irritated. I work alongside others and we give of our time to meet, plan, devise strategies to execute those plans in offering activities to the community with a view to strengthening the overall capacity to offer acts of service. This committee is a wonderful mix of individuals bringing to the table our experience of the world and our understanding of what it means to translate the Baha'i Writings into action in our daily lives. We cling to the unifying tool of consultation to guide us and create higher levels of unity among us as a group, so that we may guide and encourage our community. This is the backdrop of our strivings yet we fall short, in my opinion, in reaching these ideals. We insist on our own opinions, override the decisions of the group to implement our own suggestions regardless of what the group may have previously decided. This is where I feel that the forces of those pernicious prejudices that have been embedded in the very framework of our society find their expression, unconsciously. I read on this card that one of the practices of tolerance is balancing acceptance with justice. To me this is loving my committee and speaking up to remind us about the guidance given to us about the practice of consultation, refraining from judging our efforts as we seek to learn and mature in this ever changing world and give practical expression to spiritual principles. I seek to accept that we are collectively on this path of learning which inevitably means we will make mistakes. My job then is to learn to forgive. It is the differences among us that make us dynamic, it is an example that unity in diversity takes effort. I cling to tolerance in order to see the worth and value in others.
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