Remembrance and Tolerance

November 11th. Lest we not forget. Forget what ? Remember who ?
Today is also St. Martins Day. A day not so well known in my part of the world....
As the tale goes, St. Martin was a Roman soldier, who happened into a town, one cold night, where he saw a thin, hungry old beggar. Everyone was passing the beggar by, without a second glance, but St. Martin, got down off his horse, gave the beggar half of his piece of bread, and though he was very cold himself, tore his cloak in two and wrapped half of it around the old beggar before riding off. The pic above is of a re-enactment of this event, that I watched last week at work ( cool job eh ? ) and it bears witness not only to the kindness of a Roman soldier, but it also serves as a reminder of the many sacrifices all soldiers make for us, the common citizens of this world, so that we might know peace.
This Friday ( Nov. 16th ) marks the 50th anniversary of the International Day of Tolerance.
Funny thing is... if there was a lot more tolerance, we'd have a lot less war for those soldiers to protect us from !
If we could all just learn to respect and maybe even appreciate the richness of what our differences can do to enhance each others lives what a great world this could be. Each different culture has different ways of expressing themselves...different religions, certainly different politics, customs and even different celebrations. Tolerance comes from choosing to learn , and perhaps even understand about these differences, instead of fearing them. To recognize that the ways to be human are many and that we should each have a right to express ourselves, and celebrate that diversity without exclusion, without ridicule or without experiencing discrimination and violence. Diversity should be a treasure for all to experience , so today remember. Remember the sacrifices. Remember the Heros and most of all, remember we all inhabit this one little planet together !