Right now, the problem is there is so much divisiveness and arguing. People are on edge & easily offended. It seems you have to be SO careful what you say, who you say it to, because it could turn into an argument. What’s interesting is we live in the UNITED States of America and yet we are so DIVIDED. So I thought I would take this podcast and talk about BECOMING UNITED. What does division do? Division separates, destroys, distorts. Think about the word DI-VISION. Division is literally the action of separating something. Unity is bringing together as one. With unity there is clear vision that we are UNITED. With Di-vision there is a separating of vision and we are torn apart.
Welcome to the Becoming podcast. A podcast focused on inspiring you with topics of progress and overall growth. We all are BECOMING something, so let’s become better together. My name is Zack Harris, and I’m your host today.
If there was ever a time where this episode was needed, it’s now. We are living in a very hostile, divisive, difficult time as a country and world. We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, race-related controversies are at the forefront of our lives, AND on top of that we are in a presidential election year. That is a lot.
I read somewhere “WHEN TIGER KING IS THE MOST NORMAL THING THAT’S HAPPENED IN 2020, YOU KNOW IT’S BEEN A WILD YEAR.”
OBSTACLE
Right now, the problem is there is so much divisiveness and arguing. People are on edge & easily offended. It seems you have to be SO careful what you say, who you say it to, because it could turn into an argument.
What’s interesting is we live in the UNITED States of America and yet we are so DIVIDED.
So I thought I would take this podcast and talk about BECOMING UNITED. What does division do? Division separates, destroys, distorts. Think about the word DI-VISION. Division is literally the action of separating something. Unity is bringing together as one. With unity there is clear vision that we are UNITED. With Di-vision there is a separating of vision and we are torn apart.
For example, This can happen in marriage. When you get married you come together as ONE. Two separate lives brought together as one. You love one another, appreciate what’s special about each other, have butterflies when you are together. The positive emotions are high. However, over time, if you aren’t careful, you can become more and more divided and lose appreciation for each other.
So what seemed cute at the start is now SO ANNOYING. When you first dated he was just a free spirit who loved to dream and go with the flow. NOW, he’s a lazy bum who loses everything and doesn’t know what he wants:)
Unity brings together-Has a clear appreciation for each other. Division separates-criticizes, condemns. What happens is we lose the VISION-the picture-the appreciation for something that is special.
I believe with my whole heart that this country we live in is something special. Perfect? Absolutely not and as a country we have so much room to grow. But wife Nicole and our marriage isn’t perfect either-We have so much room to grow-However, that doesn’t change my deep love and appreciation for my wife. She is so special to me-I love her-I want to honor her-I want to be a better husband-I want to be UNITED more and more in our marriage.
And I love and appreciate this country we live in and I hope you do too.
So….with all that’s happening in our world today, all the divisiveness, all the opinions,how do we BECOME UNITED?
PLAN
This isn’t a political podcast. I’m not going to share any of my political beliefs. But what I want to do is share some unifying thoughts that I believe can help us BECOME MORE UNITED as people. So when we are tempted to be divided, torn apart, separated, I hope you can remember these 3 guiding truths. The first thing I believe that is so helpful is to
Here’s what I’ve learned. You will find what you are looking for. If you look for the negative, you will always find it. If you look for people to offend you, you won’t have to look very far. If you look for things to be upset about, trust me, you’ll be upset every day of your life.
One of the greatest examples of this is a hummingbird and a vulture. What does a hummingbird fly around and look for? Sweet things. What does a vulture fly around and look for? Dead things. The point is, You will find whatever it is you are looking for. SO let’s look for what Unites Us.
So you might wonder, what unites us? Well first of all, let me read to you the first part of our Declaration of Independence. For some of you, maybe you haven’t read this since middle school.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Each one of us has value: Every person of every race-no matter your political beliefs-religious beliefs-no matter who you are, where you are from, how dark your past is-we are all created equal.
So if I start with a perspective that each person I interact with has unmatched value, was created by God, is special, unique, what happens is I begin to see that person through a different lens. I don’t see them for what bothers me about them, I see them as PEOPLE.
So each one of us are equal, we are all created by God, we all want our lives to matter, we all want to pursue happiness in this life.
So what we want to do to become united is we want to #1 start looking for what unites us. And the second thing I believe is so important and really builds off the first is to understand that...
We have strength in our diversity. We should celebrate that we are different-We should be thankful that everyone doesn’t think like we do-We should appreciate each other's perspectives, ideas, points of view. Unity is not the same as uniformity. We can have unity and still not all think the same. I like to say it this way:
“We can walk hand in hand, without seeing eye to eye.”
The challenge is so many people in our world today believe we can only walk hand in hand if we see eye to eye on everything.
You may think “Wow, wouldn’t it be easier if everyone thought like me, believed like me, reasoned like me?”
Uniformity may be easier but I believe something even more powerful is UNITY. I heard author and speaker Michael Kelley explain this concept: Basically he said “If everyone was exactly like you, what would it mean for you to come together? To be united? Absolutely nothing. You would never have to work at understanding anyone else, accepting anyone else, or thinking like anyone else. Everything would be just the way you want it and think it should be all the time. It’s easier, sure.”
Unity is deeper and far more helpful than uniformity because it requires selflessness, sacrificing my perspective as the only perspective. The beautiful thing is the result of this is UNITY. To become more united we have to understand that unity is not the same as uniformity. We have strength in our diversity. Let’s appreciate it.
And number three, If we want to become united I believe it is so important to understand:
Let me explain with a story:
There was an old Eskimo fisherman who owned two dogs. He trained these two dogs to fight on command and on Saturday’s he’d take his two dogs to the town square to fight. The townspeople would gather around and he would always take bets as to which dog would win the fight.
Some Saturday’s the one dog would win, other weeks the other dog would win, but the fisherman always won! Somehow, he seemed to always know which dog would win the fight. Week after week this went on, with the fisherman taking the bets and always knowing which dog would win. Finally, his friends asked him how he did it.
They asked, “Every week you know which dog will win. How in the world do you always know?”
The old fisherman chuckled and said, “It’s pretty easy really. You see, the week before, I feed one dog and starve the other. The dog I feed is stronger so it wins the fight.” The one that gets fed is the one that wins.
What’s the moral of the story? You have to be very careful what you put in your mind? If you feed your mind the NEWS all day long, listen to political podcasts constantly, feast on drama on social media all day, consume your life with negativity, I can promise you it’s going to have a negative impact on your life.
“I can’t believe those people did that, there all a bunch a”….(You fill in the blank.”
Listen, I’m NOT saying don’t stay informed, don’t stay educated, don’t listen to those podcasts. Obviously that’s important. I know people who will say “I never watch the news or read what’s going on in the world.” You should stay informed and educated. BUT if that’s all feeding your mind, I can promise you it will have a negative impact on how you view the world and view others. What you need to do is be sure to fill your mind with positive things...LIKE THIS PODCAST:)
Because what you feed grows and what you starve dies.
So how do we become united?
Couple application questions:
Well I hope this was helpful to you and gave you some practical ways to BECOME united. Since we are just getting this podcast started it would mean so much if you gave this podcast a review on ITUNES or if this is really valuable to you, I’d really appreciate you sharing this on your social media that would mean so much to me.
In the word of George Elliot, It’s never too late to be what you might have been. So let’s declare “I AM BECOMING.
See ya next time
Welcome to the Becoming podcast. A podcast focused on inspiring you with topics of progress and overall growth. We all are BECOMING something, so let’s become better together. My name is Zack Harris, and I’m your host today.
If there was ever a time where this episode was needed, it’s now. We are living in a very hostile, divisive, difficult time as a country and world. We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, race-related controversies are at the forefront of our lives, AND on top of that we are in a presidential election year. That is a lot.
I read somewhere “WHEN TIGER KING IS THE MOST NORMAL THING THAT’S HAPPENED IN 2020, YOU KNOW IT’S BEEN A WILD YEAR.”
OBSTACLE
Right now, the problem is there is so much divisiveness and arguing. People are on edge & easily offended. It seems you have to be SO careful what you say, who you say it to, because it could turn into an argument.
What’s interesting is we live in the UNITED States of America and yet we are so DIVIDED.
So I thought I would take this podcast and talk about BECOMING UNITED. What does division do? Division separates, destroys, distorts. Think about the word DI-VISION. Division is literally the action of separating something. Unity is bringing together as one. With unity there is clear vision that we are UNITED. With Di-vision there is a separating of vision and we are torn apart.
For example, This can happen in marriage. When you get married you come together as ONE. Two separate lives brought together as one. You love one another, appreciate what’s special about each other, have butterflies when you are together. The positive emotions are high. However, over time, if you aren’t careful, you can become more and more divided and lose appreciation for each other.
So what seemed cute at the start is now SO ANNOYING. When you first dated he was just a free spirit who loved to dream and go with the flow. NOW, he’s a lazy bum who loses everything and doesn’t know what he wants:)
Unity brings together-Has a clear appreciation for each other. Division separates-criticizes, condemns. What happens is we lose the VISION-the picture-the appreciation for something that is special.
I believe with my whole heart that this country we live in is something special. Perfect? Absolutely not and as a country we have so much room to grow. But wife Nicole and our marriage isn’t perfect either-We have so much room to grow-However, that doesn’t change my deep love and appreciation for my wife. She is so special to me-I love her-I want to honor her-I want to be a better husband-I want to be UNITED more and more in our marriage.
And I love and appreciate this country we live in and I hope you do too.
So….with all that’s happening in our world today, all the divisiveness, all the opinions,how do we BECOME UNITED?
PLAN
This isn’t a political podcast. I’m not going to share any of my political beliefs. But what I want to do is share some unifying thoughts that I believe can help us BECOME MORE UNITED as people. So when we are tempted to be divided, torn apart, separated, I hope you can remember these 3 guiding truths. The first thing I believe that is so helpful is to
Here’s what I’ve learned. You will find what you are looking for. If you look for the negative, you will always find it. If you look for people to offend you, you won’t have to look very far. If you look for things to be upset about, trust me, you’ll be upset every day of your life.
One of the greatest examples of this is a hummingbird and a vulture. What does a hummingbird fly around and look for? Sweet things. What does a vulture fly around and look for? Dead things. The point is, You will find whatever it is you are looking for. SO let’s look for what Unites Us.
So you might wonder, what unites us? Well first of all, let me read to you the first part of our Declaration of Independence. For some of you, maybe you haven’t read this since middle school.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Each one of us has value: Every person of every race-no matter your political beliefs-religious beliefs-no matter who you are, where you are from, how dark your past is-we are all created equal.
So if I start with a perspective that each person I interact with has unmatched value, was created by God, is special, unique, what happens is I begin to see that person through a different lens. I don’t see them for what bothers me about them, I see them as PEOPLE.
So each one of us are equal, we are all created by God, we all want our lives to matter, we all want to pursue happiness in this life.
So what we want to do to become united is we want to #1 start looking for what unites us. And the second thing I believe is so important and really builds off the first is to understand that...
We have strength in our diversity. We should celebrate that we are different-We should be thankful that everyone doesn’t think like we do-We should appreciate each other's perspectives, ideas, points of view. Unity is not the same as uniformity. We can have unity and still not all think the same. I like to say it this way:
“We can walk hand in hand, without seeing eye to eye.”
The challenge is so many people in our world today believe we can only walk hand in hand if we see eye to eye on everything.
You may think “Wow, wouldn’t it be easier if everyone thought like me, believed like me, reasoned like me?”
Uniformity may be easier but I believe something even more powerful is UNITY. I heard author and speaker Michael Kelley explain this concept: Basically he said “If everyone was exactly like you, what would it mean for you to come together? To be united? Absolutely nothing. You would never have to work at understanding anyone else, accepting anyone else, or thinking like anyone else. Everything would be just the way you want it and think it should be all the time. It’s easier, sure.”
Unity is deeper and far more helpful than uniformity because it requires selflessness, sacrificing my perspective as the only perspective. The beautiful thing is the result of this is UNITY. To become more united we have to understand that unity is not the same as uniformity. We have strength in our diversity. Let’s appreciate it.
And number three, If we want to become united I believe it is so important to understand:
Let me explain with a story:
There was an old Eskimo fisherman who owned two dogs. He trained these two dogs to fight on command and on Saturday’s he’d take his two dogs to the town square to fight. The townspeople would gather around and he would always take bets as to which dog would win the fight.
Some Saturday’s the one dog would win, other weeks the other dog would win, but the fisherman always won! Somehow, he seemed to always know which dog would win the fight. Week after week this went on, with the fisherman taking the bets and always knowing which dog would win. Finally, his friends asked him how he did it.
They asked, “Every week you know which dog will win. How in the world do you always know?”
The old fisherman chuckled and said, “It’s pretty easy really. You see, the week before, I feed one dog and starve the other. The dog I feed is stronger so it wins the fight.” The one that gets fed is the one that wins.
What’s the moral of the story? You have to be very careful what you put in your mind? If you feed your mind the NEWS all day long, listen to political podcasts constantly, feast on drama on social media all day, consume your life with negativity, I can promise you it’s going to have a negative impact on your life.
“I can’t believe those people did that, there all a bunch a”….(You fill in the blank.”
Listen, I’m NOT saying don’t stay informed, don’t stay educated, don’t listen to those podcasts. Obviously that’s important. I know people who will say “I never watch the news or read what’s going on in the world.” You should stay informed and educated. BUT if that’s all feeding your mind, I can promise you it will have a negative impact on how you view the world and view others. What you need to do is be sure to fill your mind with positive things...LIKE THIS PODCAST:)
Because what you feed grows and what you starve dies.
So how do we become united?
Couple application questions:
Well I hope this was helpful to you and gave you some practical ways to BECOME united. Since we are just getting this podcast started it would mean so much if you gave this podcast a review on ITUNES or if this is really valuable to you, I’d really appreciate you sharing this on your social media that would mean so much to me.
In the word of George Elliot, It’s never too late to be what you might have been. So let’s declare “I AM BECOMING.
See ya next time