I am not better than you..

[Sakeenah]

I wanted to share this beautiful quote by an inspirational author Najwa Zebian it's from her book Mind Platter.

"I am not better than you because of my religion, color, culture, education, status, wealth, etc. I am not, and neither are you, I must accept, and so should you, that there are differences between us that we were born into. Why do we focus on these differences? Put your hand in mine and let us accept that our differences should not come in the way of us uniting for the basic human values that we share: compassion, peacefulness, respect, honesty, innocence, humbleness and sympathy. Does a baby born here smile differently from a baby born anywhere in the world? Do they cry any differently? We may not speak the same language and we may not live the same lifestyle, but a smile I put on my face when I see you puts a smile on your face before you can even think of it. Now, THAT is powerful. I hope that every sense of arrogance or greed in my heart is deviated to a sense of humility, so the wall of ignorance to the real issues in the world can be shattered by the common rights that I share with all of my brothers and sisters in humanity."

 

[Kemosloby]

She says"I am not better than you". and everybody agrees, yes yes yes, and wants to buy her book. But if she said You're not better than me, technically it would work out the same but people would think there is something wrong with her and not buy her book. So basically the lesson here is if you kiss *** and smile people might buy your book.

 

[Sakeenah]

She says"I am not better than you". and everybody agrees, yes yes yes, and wants to buy her book. But if she said You're not better than me, technically it would work out the same but people would think there is something wrong with her and not buy her book. So basically the lesson here is if you kiss *** and smile people might buy your book.

It seems like you only read the first line. Maybe you can try to read the entire quote without judging someone's intentions. I think that will help you understand her message.

 

[Duke_Leto]

She says"I am not better than you". and everybody agrees, yes yes yes, and wants to buy her book. But if she said You're not better than me, technically it would work out the same but people would think there is something wrong with her and not buy her book. So basically the lesson here is if you kiss *** and smile people might buy your book.

I would hate to see the world the way you seem to.

 

[Kemosloby]

It seems like you only read the first line. Maybe you can try to read the entire quote without judging someone's intentions. I think that will help you understand her message.

I get the message, If we were all like little children as Jesus said to be nobody would have any problems. It's not a difficult concept.

 

[Kemosloby]

I would hate to see the world the way you seem to.

What, realistically?

 

[SalixIncendium]

I wanted to share this beautiful quote by an inspirational author Najwa Zebian it's from her book Mind Platter.

"I am not better than you because of my religion, color, culture, education, status, wealth, etc. I am not, and neither are you, I must accept, and so should you, that there are differences between us that we were born into. Why do we focus on these differences? Put your hand in mine and let us accept that our differences should not come in the way of us uniting for the basic human values that we share: compassion, peacefulness, respect, honesty, innocence, humbleness and sympathy. Does a baby born here smile differently from a baby born anywhere in the world? Do they cry any differently? We may not speak the same language and we may not live the same lifestyle, but a smile I put on my face when I see you puts a smile on your face before you can even think of it. Now, THAT is powerful. I hope that every sense of arrogance or greed in my heart is deviated to a sense of humility, so the wall of ignorance to the real issues in the world can be shattered by the common rights that I share with all of my brothers and sisters in humanity."

While it's a lovely sentiment in a perfect world where people actually do share compassion, peacefulness, respect, honesty, innocence, humbleness and sympathy, sadly there are those that do not. So are those that do share these better than the ones that do not?

As far as why we focus on differences such as the ones mentioned being born into, there are those that choose to remain static with what they were born into even when presented with evidence to the contrary, as has been demonstrated countless times on this very forum. Is one that is open minded and tolerant to different views, both objective and subjective, better than one that has shut off any alternative views in favor of what s/he was born into? What about the ones who have found what they think to be the truth and have chosen to stop their intellectual or spiritual growth and development even when presented with new theory or objective evidence?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

It's a beautiful quote, @Sakeenah. Thank you for sharing it with us. Salaam / Shalom ...

 

[Sakeenah]

While it's a lovely sentiment in a perfect world where people actually do share compassion, peacefulness, respect, honesty, innocence, humbleness and sympathy, sadly there are those that do not. So are those that do share these better than the ones that do not?

As far as why we focus on differences such as the ones mentioned being born into, there are those that choose to remain static with what they were born into even when presented with evidence to the contrary, as has been demonstrated countless times on this very forum. Is one that is open minded and tolerant to different views, both objective and subjective, better than one that has shut off any alternative views in favor of what s/he was born into? What about the ones who have found what they think to be the truth and have chosen to stop their intellectual or spiritual growth and development even when presented with new theory or objective evidence?

Expecting the world to all unite is not something that is realisitic. But I do think it's realistic to accept we have differences,respect those differences and try to focus on what we have in common some of which she mentions. I don't think those that share these are better than the ones that don't. Focusing on our differences isn't always a negative thing, there are times we can celebrate our differrences. But it shouldn't be our only focus and it shouldn't stand in the way of respect and tolerance.

I don't think that those that are open minded and tolerant to other views are better than those that aren't. I would say they are more open minded but not better.
I believe uniting, being open minded and tolerant doesn't necessarily mean embracing views that are different than yours. You can still hold on to you what you believe is true and find a common ground with others that don't share the same race,religion and culture.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I wanted to share this beautiful quote by an inspirational author Najwa Zebian it's from her book Mind Platter.

"I am not better than you because of my religion, color, culture, education, status, wealth, etc. I am not, and neither are you, I must accept, and so should you, that there are differences between us that we were born into. Why do we focus on these differences? Put your hand in mine and let us accept that our differences should not come in the way of us uniting for the basic human values that we share: compassion, peacefulness, respect, honesty, innocence, humbleness and sympathy. Does a baby born here smile differently from a baby born anywhere in the world? Do they cry any differently? We may not speak the same language and we may not live the same lifestyle, but a smile I put on my face when I see you puts a smile on your face before you can even think of it. Now, THAT is powerful. I hope that every sense of arrogance or greed in my heart is deviated to a sense of humility, so the wall of ignorance to the real issues in the world can be shattered by the common rights that I share with all of my brothers and sisters in humanity."

Seems like an interesting person. Here's a page on her site and her page on goodreads:
Najwa Zebian - inspirational Speaking
Najwa Zebian (Author of Mind Platter)

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I get the message, If we were all like little children as Jesus said to be nobody would have any problems. It's not a difficult concept.

Why the sarcasm and negativity?