Used to be I thought we ought; to do something about views
that were not in agreement with mine. Maybe I saw an opportunity to help
someone see things more accurately? Or maybe I thought they hadn’t had the same
set of ideas I did? Or maybe they were flawed and needed correction?
Whatever….what a load of you-know-what! Who am I to suggest someone should see
the world in the same way I do? Or need to agree with me? How about maybe I
should agree with them? Ewwww!
Ok. So it doesn’t sit well. I’ve earned my conclusions fair
and square. Maybe others don’t agree with my point of view, but so what? Does
it matter? Depends, doesn’t it? Whether or not you think their thinking is
keeping us from making the decisions or taking the action we need to take as a
nation, city, state…to get the right things done soon and in the right order!
Well, plenty of times I’ve had this discussion with myself.
Then I get sick or take a vacation and am distracted by other matters….and a
few weeks later I realize I lost track of the burning issue and wonder what
happened. Then I learned nothing
happened and the issue is the same, but other issues have taken its place.
Meanwhile the sky has not fallen; disaster has not struck.
This happened a few times in my life. Oh, OK; it happened
thousands of times. I’m stubborn but finally came to realize the world does not
revolve around me and my understanding of things. Neither does it revolve
around your point of view either, nor America
This is not an invitation to stop caring; or stop observing
and thinking. Our involvement is needed. Just not in the all-knowing and
all-important sense! This is the truth; uncomfortable but true.
OK. The board has been wiped clean. We can start again.
Fresh and perky eyed. Ready to look at the world again only this time with more
positivism, and tolerance of diverse people and ideas. It’s a time to look at
all of this as an opportunity using more resources and collaboration.
I’d like to examine this with a quote from the Internet,
again anonymous (who knew so many people were so smart but also humble and
unwilling to share their identity?):
“Be confident. Too many days are
wasted comparing ourselves to others and wishing to be something we aren’t.
Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is only when you accept
everything you are – and aren’t – that you will truly succeed.”
I have found this sentiment to be a strong guide for me in
recent years. I think I’ve learned that it is not important that what I think
is right, but rather that I continue to explore what I think to determine if it
has deeper meaning, logic and value to other areas of thought. Along the way I
seek ideas from others. This enriches the thinking process. It adds to my
knowledge and insight. It values what others have to say, think and offer as
input.
The process intrinsically values diverse thinking. This
nearly always leads me where I could never have arrived alone. It also speeds
up the process. It pulls me in unexpected directions. What I thought was
important at the beginning is surpassed by something much more important. But
somehow they are related.
So, be confident in your own abilities but test them with
the abilities of others. Let them be them; accept yourself. Allow the results
to develop naturally. Together we are so much more.
“We see through a glass darkly” the Bible tells us. The
sources of light that enables better understanding is openness to others, other
ideas, and broader processes. Open minds allow that to happen. Getting beyond
the self becomes a virtue. The dark glass becomes clearer only if we let it.
Strive for self. Strive for understanding. All achieved
through clear thinking with the help of others. Not a bad argument for
diversity in the main!
April 21, 2012
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