I Am One Of Them 

37 Replies

I wrote this in June 2013   (The numbers are a little off but I think it is still pertinent)

There are approximately 7,121,329,380 people in the world, and I am one of them. Nearly 3,523,843,881 people on earth are women, and I’m one of them.  Less than 2% of the human population are natural redheads, and I am one of them.  Roughly 90% of the women in the world are right-handed.  I am one of them.  Approximately 35,000,000 people live in Canada and I’m one of them. More than 2.1 million people in the world are affected by MS.  I am one of them.

The reason I have taken the time to show you these statistics is because people need to understand that they are part of a group.  We are not alone.  There are actually billions of us in this great big beautiful boat we call the earth and we need to take care of it.  We spend so much time arguing over our differences that we forget to look at our similarities.  Every single person on this earth has the same colour blood I do.  We all need air to breathe and food to eat.  We all feel pain, anger, dismay and love.  We have children, we have hobbies, we have nightmares and we have dreams.  We are living longer than we did 100 years ago but I’m not sure that we are living better.  Our cultures are different, our aspirations are different and our languages are different.  But don’t you think we have more in common than we do differences?  As a species we started in the same place.  We all struggled out of the primordial sludge and over the years we developed a brain, a thought process and an attitude.  We need to put it to good use.

There is something else I want to point out.  Of the more than 7 billion people in the world there is only one me.  I am unique.  I am an original.  I am special, in exactly the same way that you are special.  Never ever again in the history of our species will you, or I, ever exist again.  Now don’t you feel significant?

37 thoughts on “I Am One Of Them ”

  3. Emilie

    With so much divisiveness, especially in the United States, it is good to remember the commonalities.
    I did something like this once when I taught junior high girls who were in a detention facility. Most of them were minorities and then there was me, the old white lady. I wasn’t old then, mid-forties, but I’m sure I was an old hag to them.
    One day I startled them out of their boredom when I told them we were more alike than different.
    I started by telling them some of the problems I’d had because of being female: problems getting jobs, problems with insurance, problems with pay. And then I said, “Every single one of us in this room can be raped.”
    Suddenly we were off onto a discussion about safety and rape prevention. We talked about friends of ours who have been raped and a few girls broke down in tears and told about their rapes.
    That afternoon created a permanent shift. We were all closer after that. They were more respectful of me. We worked better together and I swear they paid more attention to their work and learned more.
    It pays to find the commonalities, the bonds.

    Liked by 3 people

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  5. Mark Lanesbury

    We are indeed an amazing group of individuals dear lady, and I think, at the numbers you are talking about, that there must be a couple who like chocolate too 😂 🤣
    Great post Pam, may we find that common ground in our hearts, it too beats exactly the same for us all 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏼 🦋

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. dweezer19

    Exactly. Thanks Pam. As I write this I am watching a new brood of ducklings following their new Mama around the little lake. It is quite easy for me to feel at one with the, with all of Nature. It is the humans which pose the greatest challenge. Your words are true. If only more people realized this…

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Murphy's Law

    This post is absolutely pertinent today. It’s such a simple concept….. see the commonalities we share….. yet it’s one of the biggest struggles of the human race. We are definitely unique, and yet cut from the same cloth.

    I wish everyone in the world could read this post, digest it, and then reach out to a neighbor they’ve been avoiding because their skin is a different color, or they speak with an accent, or perhaps wear a turban.

    I think we are more unique when we recognize how alike we are than when we only see our differences.

    You, my dear friend, are most unique. Your friendship is one of my dearest treasures. How sad it would have been for us if we had only seen our differences and never explored each other further.

    Ginger

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. rangewriter

    This is an incredibly meaningful post. It is as pertinent today as it was 7 years ago and deserves more eyes. I would like to reblog with your permission. This line: “We spend so much time arguing over our differences that we forget to look at our similarities.” Yes! And I would add celebrate our similarities. I suspect I will need to revisit this post after the November elections.

    BTW, I am saddened to learn that you are dealing with MS. That is not an easy path. You seem to be navigating the challenges with incredible grace.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. quiall Post author

      Thank you so much! And yes of course you have my permission to reblog. If my words can add any positivity to the world then I would feel blessed. MS may be an incurable disease but it does not define my life, I do.

      Liked by 2 people

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  14. Pingback: Being a unique original in a sea of people | Rangewriter

  15. Keith

    Here via Linda’s reblog. Well laid out. I like the use of the numbers to illustrate your point. Take care with your challenges and those 2.1 million others who face the same. Live well. Keith

    Liked by 2 people

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  16. oldandblessed

    This is so basic, so elementary, yet significant and important for all of us to understand. But, we don’t understand. When we try to move beyond our caustic tribalism, it seems the best we can achieve is a state of mind that allows us to tolerate those other folks. Acceptance and respect of others would be the ideal state of mind to move us toward a more peaceful coexistence on this little blue ball.

    Liked by 1 person

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