The strength of Diversity

One of the biggest lessons I have recently learnt is the value of understanding our purpose and how we intend to prosper, in the era we live in today. Interestingly, as the society is steadily turning away from the traditional way of complete dependence on others, we are becoming more and more completely independent on our quest for the next piece of knowledge, idea, and survival in this technological or ‘global village’ world.Different cultures, races, ways of life, religions, professions, you name it; are all increasingly feeling the urge to find the point co-existence rather that conflict. This is key to towards making our futures better as well as shaping greater meaning to life for the generations ahead.Diversity means sharing, it means the willingness to learn, it means positively taking advantage of our differences rather than capitalising on them. It also means, humbling ourselves to the challenge of accepting our strengths and weaknesses and in turn contributing to whatever we are called to in life.I know by now I have glamorised the idea of simply fitting into the chaos that life seems to pose and becoming a part of the crowd, moving where it is moving to, doing what the crowd suggests you do, but no, I don’t mean to. All I am suggesting is that we can and should still keep our own persona in perspective, without losing focus on our individual values and principles as we hang out with the crowd.Rather than being ‘just like everybody else’—definitely a confused place to be, we should interact and be open to the possibility of improvement as we learn and challenge different ideas, traditions, political, social and economic structures around us.And obviously, the other major thing about diversity is how much opportunity it leaves open for enjoyment, adventure, healing especially for a country like ours, mental growth as well as personal prosperity. This is true for us the younger people. I encourage the youth to participate and look at life from a wider perspective than their personal interests because, that is not where the world is going. Trust me there is a variety of opportunities out there that you and me need to be a part of. Embrace diversity.