Why Do We Get Kicked So Often?

If Taken On Board, This Concept Would Put an End to All Discrimination

We may not be able to change the world, but we might change our corner of it.

ARE WE SOCCER BALLS?
No! Not really. But this metaphor will help to put a few crucial concepts into perspective.

Once upon a time...

HOW DOES A SOCCER BALL APPEAR TO YOU?
A soccer ball has black and white patches. Do we have black and white aspects of our makeup? We sure do! We have good and bad elements of character, physical skills, mental capacity, knowledge, thoughts, appreciation, attitudes, health, and the list goes on. But in real life 'black and white' are not appropriate, instead, we have patches that are black and others that are shades of grey. We are not perfect at anything; there is always room for improvement.

SOMETIMES WE ARE GOING BE KICKED
Another similarity to real life is that we all know that sooner or later we are going to be kicked. How often have you been kicked emotionally? Some of us still have the emotional scars to prove it; others still have open wounds. Scars are evidence of healing and much less painful, while open wounds are more painful and are evidence, there is still a need for healing. 

A SEMI-TRAILER LOAD OF SOCCER BALLS
Imagine a semi-trailer load of soccer balls travelling to a football pitch. The balls are piled up on top of each other, and as the semi-trailer stops at traffic lights and rounds the corners, the balls jostle against one another. The balls on top get fresh air while the ones on the bottom are being pressured and smothered by those which are higher up. Doesn't that sound just like our society!

There are wealthy and poor, famous and unknown, persecutors and victims, management and workers, and those on top putt pressure on those below. There are many different levels of society, and there is not only friction, intolerance and manipulation vertically, but the same also happens horizontally. Surprisingly, those closest to us often cause us the deepest grief.

ALL ON A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
So the semi-trailer arrives at its destination and tips the balls out onto the soccer pitch. When they stop rolling, all the balls are on the one level, but the black and white spots are in different positions. Regarding value, we are all on a level playing field, no one any greater than anyone else, just that our differing heredity, backgrounds, opportunities, and privileges have placed the black and white patches in a uniquely different arrangement. So what have we to be proud of, think we are better than others?

IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU LOOK
One of the soccer balls, having the old hierarchical (different levels) outlook, might decide to look up, and not see anyone above them, think they are on top, i.e. they are the best in the world. Another ball with the same outlook looks down and seeing no one below them, thinks they are the worst in the world, a nobody. Have you met people who look up or down? Your mindset will determine where you look and how you see others.

WOULDN'T THE WORLD BE A DIFFERENT PLACE
Imagine what kind of a world this would be if everyone saw others as equal, and respected their differences. If we are honest, and not deluded, there are aspects of our black spots of which we are not proud. It is not reasonable to sit, year in year out, bemoaning our lot when we have the choice to do something about them. The first step in being a better person is to be more outward focused rather than inward focused. By nurturing others' happiness, we will experience the joy that we may not have experienced before.

By
Richard Warden