Knowing how to accept others

Otherness has many faces. It indicates the recognition of cultural, social, or ethnic differences. It means seeking to understand others without judging them exclusively according to our own values and categories. It allows us to develop an awareness, precisely through engaging with the diversity of others. Yet, let's not deny it, we struggle even to accept diversity, and we remain prisoners of our certainties (sometimes merely prejudices), reassured by a presumed, specific identity. wary towards what we have not known until now.

Otherness allows us to see the other, to draw closer to him, to feel close to him. And it challenges us to overcome standardization, recognizing the uniqueness of each person.

Otherness is knowledge, because diversity, with its recognition, is always an enrichment. Those who refuse to engage with the differences of others, including cultural, religious, and ethnic differences, are likely to find themselves prisoners of solitude.

Otherness , with the discovery of the other, also leads to self-discovery. And it helps, as St. Paul writes in a letter to the Ephesians, to "bear with one another," which also means "respect one another."

Otherness is an antidote to violence. Much violence, especially against women, stems from a distorted idea of possessing the other, from the denial of their identity and autonomy.

Otherness is a view of the world, whose beauty lies precisely in its diversity.

Otherness is a journey to discover new things, through the eyes of others.

Otherness is the leaven of a long-lasting couple , capable of renewing its pact, avoiding the boredom of habit, through the possibility of what is not yet known about the other.

Opening photo by Stanley Morales via Pexels

Accepting those who are the same as us is easy, but accepting those who are different is much more difficult (Luis Sepúlveda)

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