Have you ever felt like you were out of place, like you did not quite fit in? Many years ago, comedian George Gobel said, “Some days I feel like the whole world is a tuxedo, and I'm a pair of brown shoes.”

I imagine there are times when each of us feels like no one else could really understand what we're going through. In truth, everyone has feelings of loneliness; everyone has heartache. Most everyone has had challenges with health, prosperity or self-esteem from time to time. While we feel and look different—while we come from various cultures—we are much the same.

“We believe that all people are created with sacred worth. Therefore, we recognize the importance of serving all people within the Unity family in spiritually and emotionally caring ways.” So begins our statement entitled Honoring Diversity Within the Unity Movement, adopted by the Association of Unity Churches International and the Unity School of Christianity.

We seek harmony in a world of difference. It's an interesting truth that we teach: We have an individuality that separates us from any and all people in that there is no other person exactly like us. A more humorous observation might be, “You are unique, just like everyone else.”

I remember as a child how I loved nature. I was a collector—rocks, bugs, butterflies—they all fascinated me. I observed them closely with a microscope and admired the intricacy I saw magnified. The beauty, the functionality, the colors and shapes I viewed could only be an expression of something great, which I called nature or God. Not only was there a uniqueness about each object I examined, but I became aware of the many ways all things seemed connected. All of nature seemed interdependent, and so often a change in the condition of one affected many.

Obviously, we, too, are connected, and we, too, are interdependent. Wouldn't it be incredibly wonderful for all of us to live in true appreciation of one another? We have so much in common, so much to share.

Scientists studying skulls have concluded that we, as human beings, all came from one source in Africa around 50,000 years ago. The first people grew in number and split into different tribes. Over time, clans and tribes fought each other for survival. Then they looked for ways to identify their own—and ended up being good at identifying those who weren't their own.

We have much to learn from each other, our differences and our oneness. We all share the same experience of being human, even if we don't share the identical human experience. Unity is about appreciating our individuality and our oneness. It is about acknowledging our interdependence and developing relationships within and among diverse groups of people.

Remember, you are not alone. You are unique, just like everyone else!

This excerpted article appeared in Contact magazine.