The Square Peg

Windows of acceptability...it's sort of like when you think the lady in front of you in the left lane driving 45 in a 55 mph zone is an idiot, and the guy who blows your doors off as he passes you doing 82 in a 70 is a maniac.

Those are your windows of acceptability. Anything outside of that is unacceptable, annoying, dumb, ridiculous; or whatever adjective describes your feeling.

But I wonder how many people exclude others because those people don't fall into their windows of acceptability. Have you ever avoided a conversation, a relationship, a dialog, or just being neighborly to someone because:

she doesn't go to church

he's gay

she's got a Christian fish on the back of her van

he's an atheist

he's Muslim

she's black

his arms are covered in tattoos and his earlobes can hold his cell phone

he's got the wrong Presidential candidate sticker on his car's bumper

I'd like to see us break down our boxes and get out of our comfort zones. I'd like to see less "us vs. them" and more "we." And could we leave judgment at the door to better focus on our relationships? I'm not talking about making someone who is your polar opposite your best friend. But how about not keeping him as your enemy?

Peace.