Four years ago was quite the challenging year. It’s when divisiveness became popular. I’m not saying it never happened before, but with people isolated due to the pandemic, it was easy to spar and put everyone on one side of a line or the other. It was the norm to decide who was on our own side of the line and who wasn’t. We listened to those we liked (and agreed with) and refused to listen to those we didn’t. One consistent target of distrust was media. Different people chose which media outlets they would no longer trust, which were pushing an agenda they didn’t agree with. And traditional media outlets haven’t recovered.

What seems odd to me is many of the same people who refuse to trust any sort of media look to influencers or other sources for guidance. People choose who to follow, and many of us follow people we don’t personally know. It can be helpful at times. We’re encouraged and challenged. But sometimes we follow people who simply affirm what we believe. Affirmation without engagement and accountability isn’t constructive. We look for things we like, and for some purposes, that’s fine. But our motivation matters.

Broaden your consideration right now. When you’re on social media, who do you pause to listen to? What reels catch your attention? What groups are you involved in? And maybe it’s not just social media. What community groups do you keep up with? Beyond your immediate circle of family and friends, who do you invite into your life, whether in person or through music, messages, or content of any type? This will begin to define the parameters of your life.

I completely understand some of the limits we put in place. They are healthy. But sometimes we place limits because we’re not willing to consider a different perspective. And considering a different perspective doesn’t assume we accept it. But if we’re not familiar at all with people who don’t share our viewpoint, how can we relate to them? I know many people who would claim we don’t need to relate to people who are different than us. And in some cases, that’s true. In fact, we cannot connect with everyone. We cannot be informed about every perspective. But if we have a knee-jerk reaction of slamming the door in the faces of specific groups of people, whether it’s by political affiliation, spiritual beliefs, cultural origins, or lifestyle choices, we might want to reconsider our motives and the potential damage we do to others and ourselves. In fact, we might miss out the most by our unwillingness to learn, converse, and welcome.

While we can’t engage with everyone, and not everyone we interact with can become long-lasting in our lives, there’s a vast difference between entertaining conversation and slamming a door shut to keep people out. We have limited time, and we want to spend it wisely. Knowing ourselves and our priorities is important. It’s the foundation we stand on and we want it to be firm. But if it’s that firm, why be so concerned, intimidated, or hesitant to look around? We can be stable in our footing while opening our hearts and minds to others. In the process, we can be educated and challenged. We can even be influenced in ways that strengthen and sharpen us, giving us better skills and tools to deal with people on a daily basis.

Perhaps our unwillingness to broaden our perspective will also minimize our reach. We might just miss out, and others might, too, since each of us has something to offer, and it doesn’t make sense to only share with people who are the same.

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