Different Sides

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Prompt:  The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?  (Author: Buster Benson)

June 3, 2011

Although my ideas are powerful and my actions are fearless, aspects of the single strong belief I possess are shared by my closest friends and family.  Perhaps that’s why my friends remain close and my family closer.

My one strong belief is that all people including those with different histories and from different communities and cultures should have equal access to diverse workplace opportunities.   It isn’t a unique belief.  But I do have some friends and colleagues who don’t embrace all aspects of the belief as passionately as I do.  We agree to disagree.  I am motivated by the disagreements to work harder and more creatively to help others understand that different histories might be sources of new insights for solving old problems.  Disagreements motivate me to look beyond my passionate belief and try to better understand the roots of another’s values.  I try to see differently, which makes it much easier to embrace differences.