Viktor Frankl wrote, “Everything can be taken from a man, but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

What attitude do we choose in the set of circumstances we are faced with today? Do we choose to leave people out or to include them? What “way” do we choose?

There’s so much talk today about who should be included… who should have access… who should be able to fully participate in life…

We are told that we should have an attitude of exclusion. We are told that there are those who deserve and those who do not deserve to be “a part of.”  Why not? Because they are different:

Not white.

Not male.

Not straight.

Not Right (as opposed to Left).

Not American.

Not Christian.

Not wealthy.

Not connected.

Not educated (at the right place or in the right way).

Not employed.

Not housed.

Not fed.

Buddha taught that we are all connected; connected in the most fundamental way. Connected at the core of being. Connected in “basic goodness.” Five or six hundred years later Jesus said the same thing. He said he was the son of God and we are all his brothers and sisters.

Buddha taught that we should wish loving-kindness—Metta—unconditional friendliness to all beings.

He said that “Those who are skilled in the good, should wish:

May all be happy and secure 

May all beings be happy at heart. 

All living beings, 

Whether weak or strong, 

Tall, large, medium, or short,

Tiny or big, 

Seen or the unseen, 

Near or far away, 

Born or to-be-born, 

May all beings be happy.

What attitude do we choose in the set of circumstances we are faced with today? Do we choose to leave people out or to include them? What “way” do we choose?