Strength in Diversity



Recently the YouTube video, Diversity & Inclusion – Love Has No Labels (Gender, Color, Race, Disability) Skeleton Love Dance went viral.

Why has it struck such a chord? The crowd reaction was beautiful with people wiping away tears, smiling and clapping.

It seems that we spend so much time majoring on the differences between us that we forget to celebrate those things that bind us as humans rather than those things that divide.

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Diversity is what brings colour to the world. As a writer, if I merely tried to imitate someone else’s style or ideas, my writing would be superficial.

I read widely about many topics, by many different authors with different styles. This enriches my thinking and experience.

It’s the same with friendships. I have friends of all ages, race, gender, sexuality, religion and status from all over the world.

As women, we need to embrace the idea that we are unique and diverse. We are not exactly the same as someone else. If we try to imitate, or to be someone we are not meant to be, our lives will not be as strong.

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We also need to accept the differences of others and welcome them. We are not in competition with each other. We are all contributors to this beautiful world of ours and should be each other’s greatest fans.

I love this definition from Malcolm Forbes:

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When we collaborate, share, brainstorm or create with others, the best thinking occurs. We spark each other, add to each other and build on each others’ ideas.

This diversity is what makes inventors, artists, writers and leaders in any field, stronger. We may think work in a vacuum, but we all need each other. We are independent, but work together. We are diverse and unique and weave together a beautiful pattern.

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Diversity is about bringing your own style, creativity and contribution—whatever that is— and giving it away for the greater good. We all have been given something unique to bring to the world and that’s something to be celebrated.

Elaine


About Elaine Fraser

Elaine realised she wanted to be a writer at ten years of age when the words flew off the page during a creative writing lesson. She studied English and Education at university and went on to spend many years as a high school English teacher teaching others how to write. In 2005, Elaine took the plunge and began writing full-time. Since then she has published five books and blogs at www.elainefraser.co. Elaine’s passion is to write about real issues with a spiritual edge. When she’s not travelling the world in search of quirky bookstores or attending writing retreats in exotic locations, she can be found in the Perth hills sitting in her library—writing, reading, mentoring writers and hugging her golden retriever.