Careers

I can't even spell it. One r here, another one there. I want there to be two in the middle. 

I had this thought today that careers are another aspect of our culture in need of drastic reform. I started watching a series recommend by a freshman girl called The 100. It's cheesey and made for teenagers and I'm hooked. Future. Post nuclear disaster. Humans fled to a space station. Three years later attempting to return to Earth. And this particular character caught my attention. A woman. A doctor. Who is also overseeing the Earth mission from above while fighting tyranny and trying to ensure the safety of her daughter. Capable of performing surgery to save someone from a bullet wound as well as secure the future of the human race. 

A month or so ago I was sitting with diverse a group of high school freshman listening to the tech college power plant instructor promote his program. He especially encouraged the girls to consider the field because it is in dire need of differing perspectives. He references a group of guy who Allah tee up together working together at a coal plant. When there is a problem, they all attempt to solve it in a similar fashion. Which isn't a very god way to solve problems. 

We must become or regain our Divergence. 

We cannot limit ourselves by committing ourselves entirely to one job, task, or skill. We are humans. We can do anything. And we may very well be required to do more soon. 

PS

I love my job, but it's only one part of who I am and what I am capable of doing. 

Accelerated Change

The world is changing before our eyes. When I think about all the events my 90 year-old grandparents have witnessed, I am awed. 

Awed and then overcome by a sense of compassion for people that some would say don't deserve it. These people grew up in a world where travel was not a common occurrence, and the speed of communication required patience and wonder. My own grandparents, thankfully, are very loving and accepting people, but they also haven't been directly confronted by the diversity now present in our society. I wonder about the first time they saw someone of a different skin color. I wonder what their parents told them about people that were different. When they started watching television. I wonder and I can't even imagine living their lives. 

The world is changing so quickly. I am curious about what future issues may will surpass me. Will there be topics that I don't want to discuss? Will there be lifestyles I hope my children don't adopt? Will society be accepting things I cannot? 

All this leads me to a place of compassion for those who, from a place of fear, cannot accept those they view as “others.” Discrimination is not to be tolerated nor taken lightly, but compassion does not equal approval nor acceptance. 

Rather than asking “how can you be so...” what if we said “of course you feel that way. Let's talk about the reason and try to expand your fear-based belief.”