Yin and yang enables diversity
By
People say we are naturally tribal and we seek to be with those who are most like us. There is some truth in that. You don’t need to look too far to find communities of people gathering together sharing a common interest. Expats often gather together because they share the same culture.
Social networking sites are full of forums where people come together to share ideas around a specific topic or interest. People with the same religion, ethnic origin, sexuality, gender, occupation, hobby, sometimes even the same car, get together to share their ideas and experiences.
There is much to be learned from each other.
What if we were to broaden our horizons and look further than those who are most like us?
My house is full of yin and yang energy. I’m an extrovert so I am naturally energised by being with other people. I play music loud and do cartwheels in the garden for fun. My husband is an introvert so he is naturally energised by being quiet. He plays the guitar and likes to watch sport on his own. At first it sounds like a recipe for disaster. How can we possibly satisfy the needs of both? And yet we do. We balance the energy out. He calms me down and I liven him up.
Of course, it’s more complex than that because we both change from yin to yang according to situations. The important thing is that we find a way to make things work for both of us. We understand each other’s needs and we make allowances for them, allowing each other to be the best we can be. It provides us with different activities, different perspectives, different ideas. Together life is more fun and more interesting and yes we have to make it work too by communicating what we want. I’ve learned to enjoy quiet time too and my husband can be the life and soul of any party when he wants to be.
Who is the yin to your yang or the yang to your yin?
What can you learn from those who are different from you?
Putting it into practice
- Spend time with someone who is different from you.
- Get curious about their likes and dislikes.
- What is the impact on you and on them?
With love,
Jude. x
No related posts.
5 Comments
May 19th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Hi Jude,Thanks for email am encouraged by Ying and Yang.
I married your mum inspite of our differences and felt that
our different skills would combine to make interesting offspring!
We have not been dissapointed!
As you know we have been Yinging and Yanging for 46 years and like
you and Paul we have learned to benefit from each others differences.
Keep up the good work.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Thanks dad. Good to see you here! Keep yinging and yanging! xxx
June 8th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Hi Jude I see you are keeping very busy. I really enjoyed reading this Ying and Yang passage. My husband and I have been married for 26 years (… I know … I don’t look old enough do I ? lol !!). Having different skills and intersts have worked for us and like your mum and dad we are not dissapointed. We continue to benefit from our differences and pull together as a team. At work I manage a wide spread team and although they do the same roles they all bring something differnt to the party, Diversity is key, what a boring world it would be if we all approached things in the same way and thought the same way. Excellent piece.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Hi Jan. Glad you liked this post. It’s great that you are leading a diverse team and actively embracing the differences and encouraging each person to bring something different. That’s where creativity and innovation can really happen. You are so right that the world would be boring without diversity and I want to see us embrace it much much more in oru relationships, at work, in politics, in every day life. I believe we all benefit when we reach out to those beyond our normal circle and there is so much to learn from each other.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Hi Jan. Glad you liked this post. It’s great that you are leading a diverse team and actively embracing the differences and encouraging each person to bring something different. That’s where creativity and innovation can really happen. You are so right that the world would be boring without diversity and I want to see us embrace it much much more in our relationships, at work, in politics, in every day life. I believe we all benefit when we reach out to those beyond our normal circle and there is so much to learn from each other. Thanks for your comments.