Shades of Gray

"The Beauty Of Gray"

If I told you he was your brother

We could reminisce

Then you would go about your day

If I said you ought to give him some of your water

You'd shake your canteen and walk away

The perception that divides you from him

Is a lie For some reason you never asked why

This is not a black and white world

You can't afford to believe in your side

This is not a black and white world

To be alive I say that the colours must swirl

And I believe

That maybe today

We will all get to appreciate

The Beauty of Gray

If I told you she was your mother

We could analyze the situation and be gone

If I said you ought to give her

Some of your water

Your eyes would light up like the dawn

The perception that divides you from her

Is a lie

For some reason we never asked why

This is not a black and white world

You can't afford to believe in your side

This is not a black and white world

To be alive

I say the colors must swirl

And I believe

That maybe today

We will all get to appreciate

The beauty of gray

Look into your eyes

No daylight

New day now

-LIVE

For those of you that know Shawn and I, one of the things we found out early on that we had in common was our love of the band LIVE. He however, was a mega-fan, and I only had a few albums. He introduced me to all of their albums and so my love affair (for the music and my husband) flourished. Recently, they split up and we both hold out hope that they will someday, find their way reunite so we can at least catch one last concert together. Their lyrics are inspiring and are truly life changing.

That, however, is not the premise for this blog post.

Recently, there was a debate via Facebook on abortion. I will not give my personal opinion because quite frankly it is no one's business but my own how I feel about that particular subject. What I will say is the first thing that came to mind were the above lyrics as I read some people's harsh opinions (I myself, giving one about being open minded and not judging others). This song has been a favorite of mine because it speaks to the soul on seeing world in a new light. Black and White doesn't work for every situation.

I am a very principled individual, I do things in my life and base decisions upon the sheer principle behind them. Right, wrong or indifferent. I also can be open enough to see where others are coming from. This in and of itself is a true journey, that I am still struggling to improve daily. I believe it is human nature to immediately jump to judgement when faced with a tough situation. Being compassionate and open to another person's turmoil and grief is a learned behavior. I do have zero tolerance for nonsense but if you are open and honest with me, I will forever be loyal. I would rather know where you stand than to be struggling to figure it out.

All of us are on our own journey in life and our choice and decisions, though not always right, shape the people we are. I challenge everyone to read these lyrics and live by the motto that we don't live in a black and white world. Some situations are clearly right or wrong, but most are many shades of gray. Be open enough to see life from all aspects, it will make us ALL much more compassionate people.