Ice-cream flavors and Acceptance

After reading a particularly nasty and judgmental status update from a "friend" on Facebook, I thought it was time to finally write the post that has been on my mind for some time. I have been putting this off because it has to do with religion and I know that I may step on some toes, but I feel like it needs to be said. The following quotes were spoken by the Dalai Lama... or rather tweeted by him.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred

Each major religion has its own spirit and character. There is no one religion appropriate for every type of people

Whether or not we follow any particular spiritual tradition, the benefits of love and kindness are obvious to anyone.

This pretty much sums up my take on religion. You see, I look at beliefs like ice-cream flavors.
I love vanilla, with lots of toppings. If Emma takes to plain chocolate, who am I to tell her that her tastes and preferences are wrong?

So what do I do about it? What's my religion?
I might get into that in another post depending on the reception of my readers of this post.

But for now, I would like to address how important it is, no matter what your religion, to understand the views of others.
I don't think it's a secret that I have my qualms with the christian religion. But guess what I'm teaching my daughter! Yup, bible stories. It is not because I want my daughter to be a christian. I just want her to understand their views as well as the views of other religions. It just so happens that I know the most about Christianity so I am teaching her about that while I expand my own knowledge about other beliefs.
If she chooses to be Christian, or Mormon, or Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim... that's her decision. My job is to educate her so that she can make an informed decision.

I look back at tragedies of the past (and present) and I have noticed that much of this is caused by fear, misunderstanding, hatred. Those people are fearful, hateful and misunderstanding because they grew up not learning one thing. Their way. The "right" way. Anyone who thought different was obviously a moronic crazy person or a threat and it was only logical to persecute them or put them to death... I never want my children to be so easily turned to hate.

Above all, I want to model love, humility, and compassion for them. I still have a long way to go, but I'm learning and growing a bit everyday. Isn't that what life is about?