Never judge a book by its cover

I am continually amazed at the heartless way we humans treat one another, and how we judge one another. Just looking at the atrocities we see on the news leaves me wondering what the fascination is in causing pain and suffering to another human being. Where is love? Why is it so difficult to have love and compassion for our fellow beings? I cringe as I see people full of hate, reaching out to inflict it on others, as well as themselves. Sp much damage is done that affects many lives, when a child is abused and neglected.

Who, when looking upon the sweet innocence of a newborn baby, could harm that precious being? I believe that violence perpetuates violence. Courage to stop the cycle needs to be called forth so that these behaviors are not continued throughout generations. Our prisons are full of "broken children" who suffered at the hands of abusers and have lashed out in the only way they know. I am not excusing their behaviors, because I firmly believe that they are capable of choosing the actions they take. The problem is, their pain is deep and they don't believe there is a different way. And when you grow up full of hate, that is a difficult thing to let go of. But not impossible. I have seen children who were abused, grow up and make choices to not perpetuate that abuse. They made the decision ahead of time as to how they would respond to certain circumstances in order to avoid lashing out in anger. And they are raising some amazing children.

The purpose of life is to learn. We can take the opportunity to learn from what is presented to us, or not. Life is made up of choices. Sometimes we make bad ones. If we LEARN from those choices then we are succeeding. If we continue to make the bad choices over and over, then we have not taken the opportunity to learn. I tip my hat to all who have been brave enough to not continue with destructive behaviors, and who have sought a different, loving path.

Our society is sick. When people are judged first by their physical appearance, and if they don't "make the grade" are counted as worthless, it is destructive and wrong. Never judge a book by its cover. If you do you will miss out on some of life's greatest adventures. When you meet someone, look into their eyes. It really is true that the eyes are the window to the soul. Don't just look at the physical handicap or deformity, the size or dimensions, the skin color, or the style of dress. Look at the person. There is so much more to us as humans than what we see at first glance. To place ourselves in superiority over another human being because we are 'beautiful' and they are not, is making a judgment that none of us has the right to make.

I want to suggest a couple of things. Number one is to go to www.youtube.com and type in Susan Boyle. Take the opportunity to watch the videos of her performance on "Britain's Got Talent. It is very inspiring and speaks to exactly what I am saying. Number two is to go to www.impacttrainings.com. This is an amazing program that has assisted thousands in learning to love life and embrace who they are. It changes lives. It is time for us to make the difference so that love is perpetuated, not hate. It starts with one person and can have a ripple effect. Never think for a moment that you cannot make a difference.