The Snowflake Perspective – Happy New Year!

Friday, January 01, 2010

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I remember winter days growing up in Lincoln Nebraska when I would grab the black construction paper and dart outside at the first sign of a snowflake. Poised and still, I would catch these tiny crystal masterpieces from the sky.

They say no two snowflakes are exactly alike. As I stared more closely at the unique and complex structures against the black paper background, the question “why” came to
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the mind of even a young child. Why would precipitation falling from a dreary gray sky be so exquisitely beautiful? As a child, I saw no point to this other than my own entertainment. As an adult, I see no point to it other than my Creator wants me to stop and wonder.

Only moments after relishing in the snowflake’s individuality and diversity do I witness it melt into an indistinguishable tiny puddle. The snowflake’s identity is simply two hydrogen atoms and
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one oxygen atom bound together in molecules and spun into an intricate frozen fabric.

“Th
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at is all I am,” says the snowflake. “All of my fascinating individuality and extraordinary design is made of the same stuff as every other snowflake.”

Our beauty, like the snowflake, lies within our delicate diversity. We must remember our diversity is unimaginably delicate. The human genome is 99.99% the same. At the level of our genetics, all of the diversity we see in the human race lies in the expression of 0.01% of our genes. We are 99.99% exactly the same.
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My hope for 2010 is a planet which reaches out for the humility and eternal perspective of the snowflake. Out of the dreary dark skies of violence, oppression, and fear, we can experience a world of hearts that actively celebrate the beauty of their diversity and consciously embrace their overwhelming unity. As we peer over the horizon of a new decade, I believe if we are not feeding this hope... We are starving our children’s future.

May God Bless your New Year. Michele

“Only humility will lead us to unity, and unity to peace.”           Mother Teresa
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