Of all the deep mysteries that pervade this world (of which there are many) it is humanity that is the greatest enigma of all. “Know thyself” advised a great philosopher, but most of us understand only surface facts about ourselves and even less about our fellow humans.

A lot of us are acquainted with the psychobabble we hear on TV talk shows or read in the periodicals, but most of that consists of just labels and we love labels. But the truth is that labels are just that – labels. They cannot truly ever define or explain the totality of another human being. The more we think we know the less we really know.

I often find myself puzzling over the behavioral of some (maybe all) of my neighbors at any given time, only to conclude that its a waste of time and the best policy is to simply accept people as they present themselves.

I concluded long ago that I cannot change others. People change when and only if they want to do so. While we can all lead by example, we cannot create others in our image.

Loving “the other” seldom consists of a warm fuzzy feeling. Mostly its a matter of being non-Judgmental and maintaining respect. Theres an old song I remember in which I paraphrase “take what they can give you and give them what you can”.

I doubt if we are ever really going to understand one another or solve the puzzle that is humanity anytime soon. But we can chose to take the high road in any of our dealings with our fellow humans and be the sort of person we would like others to be. It sounds simple but it isn’t.