To Our Readers

William E. Moody

I had three turtles once. They were box turtles. I was thirteen, and I marveled at these creatures. I thought it was really "neat" the way they could close their hinged carapaces and tuck their heads inside their shells. And their shells were beautiful to me. Each turtle's markings were so distinct. There were different shades of brown and tan and yellow. Each had intricate designs and patterns that seemed to have been etched by a master artist.

They were all box turtles—the same species—but the diversity was almost like a miracle. It was wonderful.

Of course, I know that turtles are turtles and that people are people. But the diversity in humanity is also wonderful. It's something l've come to appreciate more and more over the years. As I was reading the Cover Story in this week's issue by Julio Rivas T., I felt again how important this appreciation of diversity really is to our spiritual development as individuals, to peace and harmony, to society's progress.

The article's title asks, "Can there be diversity and unity?" As the author writes, "Spiritual unity does not mean sameness and dullness." He also points out how human diversity hints at the infinite range of spiritual qualities in God's creation and notes that "... diversity contributes to society's ability to dynamically and creatively reinvent itself when changing times require it."

I suppose that if diversity troubles us, we could, like the box turtle, retreat inside a shell and just live to ourselves. Or. we could love the wonder of it all, be part of life, enjoy each other, and help to demonstrate the spiritual unity that is God's gift to all us.

William E. Moody
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