All of Us, not Us vs. Them - Inspiration Thursday

"In our travels, we have come across many equations--math for understanding the universe, for making music, for mapping stars, and also for tipping, which is important. Here is our favorite equation: Us plus Them equals All of Us. It is very simple math. Try it sometime. You probably won’t even need a pencil." 
             - From Going Bovine by Libba Bray

This passage stopped me in my tracks.  It is both sarcastically hilarious and deadly accurate.

Living the golden rule is a challenge.  It is easy enough to write people off as "bad" people not worthy of our kindness and charitable treatment.  To label, categorize, and shunt off the "undesirable."  To put them on the opposing team. 

But at the bottom of things there really isn't any Us or Them.  It truly is All of Us.  We're in this thing together.  We're more Same than Different.  We're all--each and everyone one of us--a beat in the pulse of humankind.  And, as such, it seems to me that we don't have to agree with each other in order to be civil and kind.  Easier said that done, but shoot for the stars, I say.

Photos from Yellowstone National Park - August 2016