Before every label, we are human
Dear Beautiful Soul,
Before we are Black, White, Asian, Indigenous, or any other racial or ethnic identity…
We are human.
Before nationality, culture, language, social status, religion, or any of the labels the world places upon us, there is something much deeper that connects every one of us.
Our humanity.
We all enter this world needing love.
We all experience joy and sorrow.
We all know what it feels like to hope, to fear, to dream, to lose, to struggle, and to want to belong.
Our skin may look different.
Our cultures may be different.
Our traditions, languages, histories, and life experiences may be different.
And those differences deserve recognition and respect.
But difference was never meant to determine human worth.
I believe that in the eyes of God, no skin color makes one soul more valuable than another.
No nationality makes one heart more worthy of love.
No race gives one human being greater dignity than another.
We are all part of the same humanity.
Imagine what our world could become if we learned to look beyond our assumptions about one another and became curious about the person standing in front of us.
What if, instead of asking, “How are you different from me?” we also asked:
“What do we share?”
Perhaps we would discover that the person we thought was so different from us wants many of the same things we do.
To be loved.
To feel safe.
To provide for their family.
To be respected.
To have opportunities.
To experience peace.
To know that their life matters.
Our differences do not have to divide us.
They can teach us.
They can expand our understanding.
They can remind us just how beautifully diverse humanity can be while still belonging to one human family.
And this does not mean ignoring racism, prejudice, or the painful experiences people have endured because of race.
Quite the opposite.
If we truly believe every human being has equal value, then we are called to notice injustice, challenge prejudice, and treat one another with greater compassion and dignity.
God’s love does not ask us to erase our differences.
It asks us to love through them.
Today, perhaps we can each do something simple.
Look at another person—not first through the labels society has given them, but through the recognition:
There is another human soul standing before me.
A person with a story.
A person with struggles I may know nothing about.
A person deserving of dignity.
A person deserving of kindness.
A person deserving of love.
We may have different skin, different histories, and different ways of experiencing the world.
But underneath it all, we share something extraordinary:
We belong to the same humanity.
And perhaps the world begins to change when we stop allowing our differences to become reasons to separate ourselves and instead allow them to become opportunities to understand and love one another more deeply.
May we see beyond labels.
May we remain curious about one another.
May we stand against prejudice wherever we encounter it.
And may we never forget the sacred humanity we share.
With love & light,
Rev. Carmen Gélinas
PS: Your Divine Wisdom Cards & Journal are available here.
