First lesson...

So I'm wrestling with something.  If your family is anything like my family, there are issues that you do not see eye to eye on.  In fact, there probably isn't a single member of your family that you have more than 25% in common with-- and yet you're of the same flesh and blood so you want so bad to have things in common-- but you don't.  You could be going through the most amazing transformation in your character and soul and there's bound to be someone in your family that thinks you are just wasting your life.

So maybe like me you try to explain yourself to those whom you love.  You think, "Oh, if only I could tell them about this journey I've been on and the people I've met, they would understand why I have broken away from my upbringing!"  So you start off talking calmly and confidently and then suddenly you're exchanging shouts and snide comments and then- then you realize that they don't see what you see- they'll never see what you see- and they are just as passionate about believing in the opposite of what you believe in.  At that point, well, you just shut your mouth and learn to not talk about the things that matter so much to you.

Try to

focus

on

that

25%.

And, who knows, maybe it's a lot bigger than 25%.  Who keeps track of these things, anyway?

All I know is, one of the FIRST lessons my child will learn (pending we have kids at some point) is how to treat people who have a different opinion than you.  How to respect and enjoy others- despite the fact that they might think you are ridiculous or "denying your upbringing" or "becoming a pagan" or what have you.  Alright, maybe the first lesson will be "pee in the toilet" or "don't throw rocks at the car"-- but you get me.

The part I'm wrestling with is: If I'm just avoiding subjects that I know my family doesn't agree with all the time- am I truly loving them or letting them have the chance to love me?  Or, am I just trying to keep the charade going?

What do you think?  Stay true to myself, or keep the peace?