• May 05, 2023
Today is Friday – for most the end of the work week. For others, it may be the middle or even the start of their week. I am waiting for my morning coffee, while for others it is their dinner or even lunch coffee. Or tea. I have held a lot of different jobs. Some are very different, some not so much. Some days I drove to work. Some days I didn’t. Some days I drove for work.
I have worked with a lot of different people. An incredible amount of diversity in gender, race, religion, experience, disabilities, education, social upbringing, personal struggles, language. And thought.
*Where are you going with this Eden? That’s a great question. I started out with a completely different direction as I listen to the birds off my balcony.
Diversity is an amazing thing. I am not limiting my thought process to the Diversity thinking we see in our employer’s organizational culture. That is incredibly important, but we see and learn about diversity without knowing the meaning of the word a lot earlier in life.
And we don’t think about it. We don’t even realize it is happening.
The kids I grew up with; went to school with; created music with; laughed and cried with; showed me the incredible value everyone has. I am still friends with many of them today. Our backgrounds as kids, where we went to church, what streets we lived on, or if we took the bus to school or walked, all created diversity and taught us resiliency. Independence. Teamwork. Acceptance. Love.
Diversity is around us, every second of our day. Some choose to celebrate and learn from that diversity. Others choose to ridicule, ignore or even hate that diversity because others are different from them.
I am thankful for the diversity in so many experiences and people I have encountered over the years. Our diversity helps us build better things. It helps us be better people, spouses, children, siblings, employees, employers, friends. I have learned so much from people and their uniqueness In many cases I asked how they learned that thing they were showing me.
I am better as a result of the diversity in my life and celebrate the joy it brings. Everyone would be better. The country would be better. Our world would be better.
Next time you are wondering why someone got that job, or why they do something a certain why - ask them. Take the time to understand their diversity and uniqueness of perspective or experience. You might be very surprised.