Learn from Jon

Many people might wonder, 'how do you learn from someone like Jon?'
 
We learned early on that it took a lot of struggle and effort to try to make Jon be just like us. So rather than trying to change Jon and make him fit into our idea of what we think is important, we focussed on how to grow and adapt to Jon.
 
A perfect example is with Jon's wardrobe. Jon is most comfortable in his t-shirt and underwear. For years, we tried to make Jon wear pants all day. It took a lot of effort and we had to tell him over and over again "No Jon, you have to keep your pants on". He didn't understand why. We finally realized that is was more important to us for him to be comfortable in his own home, than for him to dress the way we wanted him to. So we adapted. Now he understands that when he goes to work, or out in public that he has to wear his pants, and when he comes home he can wear whatever he wants to wear.
 
By respecting Jon and allowing him his own way of doing things, it opened our minds and hearts and our compassion and kindness grew.