Sometimes I wonder whether I'm in the right career... it's not that I don't love the individual parts of my job, the pattern matching of incidents to find underlying commonalities and then tracking it down to the true cause to the satisfaction of all...
the control I have over the processes with the joy of seeing everything running smoothly...
even the interactions with other members of my team - aiming to understand where they are coming from and what they need in order to perform their job...
But it's the strangeness where the boss offers a copy of New Scientist out and I am leaping out of my chair wanting to be the first one, only to find I am the *only* one...
It's having to explain the soulful satisfaction of Kombis as a preference over BMW's...
It's listening to conversations about cultural / religious differences, where it's obvious that they just don't get it....
It's the mini cauldron on my desk filled with crystals that only one person has figured out...
It's the utter dis-belief that this stubborn, assertive, logical, control freak is a knitter...
Yes we embrace diversity. My section could be an ad for Benetton, but that doesn't mean that with diversity comes an automatic understanding and appreciation of the cultural, personal, religious, spiritual values of others.
What is it that gives someone that ability to see the bigger picture, to truly appreciate diversity - not just as a phrase to be worshipped...
Is it something that comes from having experienced discrimination?
Or is an open mind something that just is and cannot be developed?
How do we encourage open minds in others? Is it something that can be nurtured in the young?
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