I often receive emails from readers thanking me for my columns and sharing their own stories that relate to the perspectives and experiences that I have shared.
Writing is a solitary act, and when I hear from readers, it helps me feel connected to the community. I am connecting with people I鈥檝e never met before and there鈥檚 something really special about that, especially in this time of isolation.
Nearly a year into this pandemic, a lot of us are frustrated and sometimes that leads to less-than-stellar communication. In a time when patience and pleasantries are wearing thin, hearing kind words from strangers who appreciate what I do is refreshing. I want to say 鈥淭hank you.鈥�
Kind emails from people encourage me to be kinder. These messages of support have been inspiring me to pass on kindness to others throughout my days.
Not all emails I receive are positive, and that鈥檚 OK, too. When I was a newspaper reporter and received negative emails, I took it far more personally because I thought people were criticizing my work.
When someone disagrees with an opinion column, it鈥檚 different. I am a firm believer that a difference of opinion is healthy and keeps things interesting.
We鈥檝e all heard the saying 鈥渘ever discuss politics or religion.鈥� I understand its 颅premise, but I enjoy hearing about people鈥檚 religious and political views, as long as it is about sharing and not trying to convert me.
I am always so curious about how people think and what people value. I like learning about views that I don鈥檛 have, and getting insight into why people are the way they are. Taking the time to learn and listen from 颅others allows us to peek through a little 颅window into their lives. That window helps us understand people.
There are many times I鈥檝e heard 颅people express a view I don鈥檛 have. That can spark me to rethink or reanalyze things, and 颅ultimately can change my opinion or approach. I am always interested in being better.
When someone reacts better to conflict, disappointment or anger than me, I like to take notes. If you鈥檝e ever watched a speech of a defeated incumbent on election night, you鈥檒l know what I mean. They usually start with 鈥淭he people have spoken鈥︹�� and then follow with some humble words and wishing the elected individual the best.
We all know the defeated incumbent wanted to retain their position and believed they would have done a good job, but they can honour the fact that voters had a 颅different view. Unfortunately, in the recent election south of the border, we didn鈥檛 get to see that level of professionalism.
A difference of opinion gets unhealthy when people devote far too much time trying to get people to agree with them, rather than just listening.
Not everyone needs to agree with us, and we don鈥檛 need to agree with them. We can honour our differences and be kind at the same time. Success isn鈥檛 about everyone thinking the same thing. It鈥檚 about understanding people.
During my master鈥檚 degree, I participated in a Communities of Practice, where a group of individuals shared and discussed ideas on a specific topic. In one such discussion, I was the lone wolf in my opinion 鈥� no one agreed with me.
We had a mature discussion, and it enabled me to see why people didn鈥檛 agree with me, even though my opinion never changed. Learning to see how other people viewed the situation was far more valuable than having everyone tell me I was right.
