Like-Minded

In this time in which we live, you can barely turn around without being exposed to a multitude of ways people find to express their opinions.  This not only has many positive effects but also intended and unintended negative effects. I have to laugh just a little bit as I am talking about this in a blog, a manner of communication that really hasn't existed for that many years, and was certainly not something that I knew about several years ago.  Now, there are a million ways that people can reach out, through Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and other ways that I'll never understand.

But sometimes we get a chance to land in a group of like-minded individuals. This happened to me over the last weekend. It was time for Wood Magazine's annual "Weekend with Wood," and this is truly a bunch of folks who are interested in and committed to improving their knowledge and skills around woodworking.  Really a group of like-minded individuals.

Okay, hold on a second. Really? Well, not really. Even though there was an overarching interest in woodworking and the skills it takes to do good work, as I listened to the group there were fully as many other topics as you would find anywhere else. I listened to a very impassioned conversation about Homeowners Associations. The four people involved were from different cities and different states, but were able to have a very animated conversation about their thoughts. The conversation could have gone on anywhere. And in the middle of it I found myself smiling. You may ask why?

It struck me that in our daily lives, in a time and a society that it feels as though there is NEVER a clear agreement, really all that you have to do is look for it, and when you see it you have to recognize it.  Now, if you are scratching your head, let me see if I can help to clarify with an example.  Suppose that you are at a dinner party and discover the the two most politically polar people that you have ever met are in attendance. You would of course expect that the conversation would become contentious, right?  Well, maybe ... maybe not.  If the conversation goes the rightt way, it may be possible that these people are also the biggest Kansas City Royals fans on... the... PLANET. Who knew?  It might be possible for these two to have a conversation and go through the whole evening without landing on what their political beliefs are.

So, what is my point here? I guess that I'm saying that sometimes we should spend the energy looking for the way we are like each other rather than the ways we are different from each other. I know that in the middle of that group at the Meredith Corporation this weekend there was probably someone I could have argued with over something that we both felt passionate about.  But, instead, we were all SO focused on woodworking that when other topics came up, they were really just as ponts of interest and nothing that would drive a conversation. It was very refreshing.

At this point I find myself challenged going forward to strive to find the commonality that I have with others, rather than looking for the differences and reasons to argue. It will be interesting to see how I do with that. It isn't necessarily the way that I have functioned up to this point. Wish me luck.