Just Different
I’ve never considered myself much of an athlete. So, it’s kind of funny that I was standing in the middle of a ball court when I had an epiphany. It was a hot, sunny day. I was listening to a local guide tell us about the ball games played at the Gran Juego de Pelota in Chichen Itza, located in today’s Mexican state of Yucatan. He vividly described a grueling, sometimes multi-day event. As his voice reverberated off the walls, I swore I could hear the crowds cheer. I closed my eyes and I could picture the athletes, I could feel their exhaustion, I could sense their determination, I almost could smell their perspiration... Well, anyway you get what I'm saying. I was there.
The guide pointed to the goal. It was a seemingly, way-too-small stone hoop, high up on a side wall, through which the ball had to pass in order to make a goal and win the game.
It sometimes took days, he said, for a team to make a goal. The first team to make the goal was the winner. Our guide, who claimed to be a Mayan descendent, explained that some archeologists believe that the losing team was sacrificed, possibly decapitated. He let that sit with us for a moment or two, then challenged us to consider that it is also possible that the winning team was the actual group sacrificed. “They had different spiritual views back then,” he continued. “They may have believed that it was an honor to be sacrificed and sent to the next life. We don’t and will never know for certain.” Again, he let that sit with us, just for a bit.
And that’s when he pronounced the words that would, from that point, alter my thinking. Simple words that had more impact on me than any preacher’s sermon. “Just consider it,” he said. “And remember, it’s not right, it’s not wrong, it’s just different.” He may have talked some more, I don’t remember. Those words tumbled sweetly in my head. It’s not right, it’s not wrong, it’s not good, it’s not bad. It’s just different.
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