Tolerance -noun
a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry.

Those involved with Habitat for Humanity are all too familiar with a lack of tolerance.  Let's look at what it means to be tolerant.

• We stop at the same coffee shack each morning for a Milky Way Mocha but the new owners switched to agave sweetner and soy milk and now the drink tastes different. What do they mean they won't use standard refined sugar? Aren't I the customer? What do they mean by telling me the coffee shop on Third St. uses all that bad for you stuff?
• We get to choose where we work but they hired an employee after me whom I don't really see eye to eye with.  Well, I was here first.  Certainly I'm more valuable. What do they mean, it doesn't work that way? 

The ultimate freedom of choice we have is to buy our own home.  We work very hard to accomplish this; extra hours at work, working with some people we don't even like, sacrificing Milky Way Mochas to save for the down payment. (Just as well, since they switched to that agave stuff.)  We search for a home that will fill our family's needs, is in a convenient location for our job with that person and the coffee shop with that sweetner.  We buy the house, start up all the utilities, move our stuff in and life is as good as it gets.  Until, that is, we realize we have neighbors.  One neighbor has a teenager (with friends!).  Teenagers can be unpredictable and most certainly all of them are looking to cause trouble.  Same neighbor has a younger child as well.  One which rides a bicycle and has a toy horse. The neighbor is a single mother!  She had visitors from out of town that stayed for more than one night.  Neighbor...with lives!

Those of us who weren't much bothered by the off-key sibling or the mole on the teacher's cheek will smile at the toy horse or bike left on the front lawn and remember fondly the long days of our own youthful summers.  We will smile as we back out of our driveway and notice a trashcan still at the curb and later ask next door neighbor, Shirley, what fun thing kept her out so late.  We will learn that Shirley rushed straight from her job at the hospital to the store to pick up a bottle of wine and a card and then stopped to pick up the kids from the Boys and Girls club then they rushed to Tumalo State Park for a friends surprise birthday party and when they finally got home, late that evening, Shirley was simply too tuckered to drag her trash can in.

But those of us who were constantly telling on our siblings for leaving their dirty laundry draped over the arm of the couch and who lament our illegible handwriting, blaming it on the evil third grade teacher, well, we aren't too tolerant.  And when the neighbor, (who we don’t know is named Shirley) also happens to be a Habitat homeowner, we aren't too willing to forgive her for letting life get in the way of orderliness.  Can't that woman keep those kids in line?  They are always leaving their bikes on the front lawn.  At least three times this month.  It is affecting the resale value of my home. We've never talked to the woman to learn where she works or what her children's names are because most certainly we won't have anything in common with her.  We worked really hard for our house and she was just given hers. 

Perhaps you can see what the true meaning of this post is.  Perhaps you are missing the point entirely.  If so, I am sad for you because you probably missed the amazing sunset last night as well.  Though one blog post can't change the world, one person can.  If you want to spread the message of tolerance, share this blog post with all of your friends.  Each and every one of us is guilty of a lack of tolerance at one point or another. Some of us might be guiltier than others.  Work hard to not be that person.