THE DIFFERENCES THAT MAKE US THE SAME
Definitely there are a lot of differences between the spiritual belief of people, our intelligent thinking and the reality of living to make us appreciate that all human beings possess the values of humanity such as truth, beauty and goodness but those that are misguided and are easily misled make their living full of difficulties, pain and suffering. There are a lot of times in life that I want to become a deaf and a blind individual so that I remain away from those who preach false, ugly and evil ideas and practice negative ways. Unfortunately this is not at all possible.
However, I have developed the courage of my convictions to voice my objections to all wrong human practices and ideas by keeping my creative skills going as an amateur author. In the New Year 2020 I hope to do a bit more to express my opinions and would like other honest people to do the same. I know that it is difficult to make everyone like you and it is also hard to like everyone and appreciate all alternative thinking but at least we can give these aspects of humanity a try.
When I turn on the news of any media these days and it seems like we are a country and a world that are divided. There is a polarizing force at play on almost every topic on the world scene. Everything seems like “Us Vs Them” on issues like gun control, global warming, women’s health, racism, immigration, war, oil, big banks, taxes and education. Often at the very foundation of many of these struggles there are things that keep us grounded, attacked and attached and these are religion and politics. We all believe in something and feel that we should be with the devil we know rather than the devil we do not. Even those of us who have faith in nothing at all, hold firm to that conviction. No matter what our opinions are, everyone is looking to find a deeper connection and meaning. Many times we agree to disagree but still move on. By finding out what makes us different, we can arrive at what makes us all the same. At one point in our life we all wonder the same thing: “Who are we and why are we here?”
Before I began my confessions, I too have been working to find the most compelling, sincere and thoughtful stories and events of truth, beauty and goodness of humanity. Sometimes I managed to get those but often there were moments of false conducts, ugly scenes and evil ideas that have been making the world an unacceptable place to dwell. However, my feelings of trust, faith, love and devotion have not changed but have strengthened so that I can continue to lead a peaceful life and feel within my heart that one day the good people of the world with the blessing of God Almighty will resurrect the original intentions of the creation of nature when we all can go on the route of exploration of purpose, the meaning of love, the challenge to overcome obstacles, the desire for change, the will to push through loss, the practice of faith and the mystery of death and life.
One of my earliest childhood memories was looking across at my brother and trying to figure out why we seemed so different from one another. I was chubby and fat and my brother was thin and skinny. His hair was thick and curly; my hair was straight and fine. As we got older, the differences in our personalities, our talents, our strengths and weaknesses, even our outlooks on life, became more obvious and pronounced. All those character traits that say we are unique go a long way in determining how we relate to the world. I still find it fascinating how two people with the same genes brought up in the same environment, with the same care, love and attention; can develop into such radically different people.
That notion of the divergence in all our lives leads on to other questions, like how we face the problems, disappointments and successes that are part and parcel of existence. What is it that makes one person capable of overcoming adversity and even grow stronger in the face of it, while another person folds under the pressure? I think the differences are there somewhere in our characters. We continue to see some of those indefinable inner strengths which make one person stand up and fight while another to give up and accept defeat. The way we listen to music and appreciate or dislike some of those has changed radically. The internet technology has transformed the lives of individuals and businesses so much that we cannot differentiate things clearly. We are now more the same than different in our outlooks.
Many flourishing cities and countries have seen that their industries, commercial organizations, educational institutions and even religious and political agencies have failed to adapt to the current market and communal forces. They failed to find new ways and better markets or new strengths to reorganize them. Their failure has led to mass unemployment, which has a major impact on individuals, families, community spirit and city living confidently. Unemployment, poverty and financial woes break up families and these broken families help create broken communities. Despair leads to alcohol and drug abuse and increases in crime. This downward spiral continues as investors are scared off locating new businesses in areas with such problems. All these adverse developments have not been able to alter the differences and the similarities of people, products, procedures and purposes.
I believe there is a strong connection between the built up environments we live in and our social, economic and emotional well-being. If we are to look at what makes our communities thrive or fail, we have to look at all aspects of their unique character and their differences. The important part of that character is its design, planning and structure. If these aspects are wrong, then they affect everything else and make us either more different or maintain our similarities.
As the director of human resources in various commercial organizations for two decades, I found that one of the key elements to having a successful and thriving organization is not to employ “like” individuals but rather to embrace diversity and differences. All of us are different but do possess a lot of similarities. We have different backgrounds, personal experiences, races, genders and cultures. We have our own personal imprint which is different and unique from anyone else.
These unique differences bring together different ideas, perspectives, understandings to an organization and in turn make that organization thrive when the people who are the greatest resource act in similar fashion. Having a diverse workplace also improves company morale and creates an equal and ethical work environment. Being in a diverse workplace is educational and exposes us to things perhaps we were not aware. It can help open our eyes to different perspectives as each of us sees things in a different way.
Not only is it important to have a diverse workplace but also to embrace it. When we are able to embrace all the differences and similarities of each other we can achieve better results in all our activities. So let us celebrate our differences and educate each other about our similarities. The more we would learn and know about our differences the more we would excel. Let us be open to good and wise ideas of other people, even if they are different than ours. Let us try to see things in the eyes of the beholder and be considerate that others may see things differently. I confess that the more we see things differently, the more we learn, the more we are challenged and the more we grow to be the same. I feel that diversity is not only good, it is great.