When it comes to the human family, we sometimes see only our differences. We see how different we are from each other, in ways ranging from gender and race to geographical location and religious beliefs. It is almost as if we think we are a different species sometimes. But the truth is, in our personal families as well as the human family, we really are the same.

A widowed mother of four living in a tent full of holes in refugee camp in Guyana looks up at the same stars and moon that shine down on a French couple sitting on a sidewalk café in Paris. A Tibetan monk living in exile in India, a newborn infant in China, and a young couple saying their marriage vows in Australia all breathe the same air, by the same process. We have all been hurt and we have all cried. Each one of us knows how it feels to love someone dearly. No matter what our political views are, we all love to laugh. Regardless of how much or how little money we have, our hearts pump blood through our bodies in the same way. With all this in common, it is clear we are each individual members of the same family. We are human. Yet we see each others as if we were from different species. I was astounded sitting through a presentation once by a gay person and she was showing pictures and introducing various gay couples, old, young, with kids, without kids, and I’m anticipating that she would tell us next that these “people” would also cry real tears and bleed red blood.

Acknowledging how close we all are, instead of clinging to what separates us, enables us to feel less alone in the world. Every person we meet, see, hear, or read about, is a member of our family. We are truly not alone. We also begin to see that we are perfectly capable of understanding and relating to people who, on the surface, may seem very different from us. This awareness prevents us from disconnecting from people on the other side of the tracks, and the other side of the world. We begin to understand that we must treat all people for what they are—family.