A friend as addicted to office supplies as I am bought these cute little craft punchers. I've been joining a four-hour call daily for the last week. To keep my focus in check, I got crazy punching little moons, crowns, frogs, and flowers on my post-its. That sounded contradictory, but I focus better when I'm doing something else. Kinesthetic, they call it.
Fast-forward to the end of the day, and I'm in a four-hour breakfast with friends. We started talking about differences in people and how these differences bond and break us. Diversity, in a word. Sometimes, it's misused and abused. Other times, people are just confused about it. I have learned to sum it up with a philosophy I live by: Agree to disagree. We will all have differences. I cannot always agree with someone else, and I cannot always disagree either. I can't always be right, and neither can everyone else. I have to accept the differences in Everyday People (Sly & The Family Stone). I have my non-negotiables, of course. Things like values and beliefs. There, however, are always going to be different strokes for different folks. One way may work for you, while it may not work for me. That doesn't mean I have to crucify you for it.
One may be a moon, another a crown, even another a frog, and another a flower. The punches we make, though, eventually multiply us all to a pretty cluster. So, there's beauty in diversity.
Ang cute nung frog!
ReplyDeleteSis ang cute ng mga punchers na yan! :)
ReplyDeleteI also have my non-negotiables and when my friends did the unthinkable, I dropped them off as friends. Its been 2 years since I last talked to them. And when I look back, those same people don't share the same values as mine and I'm glad I got rid of them. One is even discriminatory saying she wants to marry a Chinese than a Filipino and I am like, haller, you're a FILIPINO! The fact that you're born here makes you a Filipino. You only have Chinese blood in you.
ReplyDelete@Jean and Joanne: Ang kulit no? Pati yung punched papers, ang cute. :P
ReplyDelete@Dianne: Ako naman, ayoko talaga sa lahat sinungaling. I will believe the best in people nga, diba? I'm a big girl, I can handle the truth. Just don't lie to me.
i love this post. ang galing ng connection ng punchers and differences :)
ReplyDeletethose punchers are seriously cute! saan mo nabili?
i took a long time before i figured out my non-negotiables. my biggest issue is i find a way to justify other people's actions. i always do. laging gray area. it's such a bad quality because it makes me wonder if people think i'm a doormat.
@mooncake: I haven't gotten my own. Yung friend ko nabili siya sa National. :D
ReplyDeleteI try to understand others as much as I can. One thing I've learned from a mentor is the difference between intent vs. impact. Most of the time, we all have good intentions. The impact isn't always good, though. For the most part, I try to look at the intent. Then make others understand the impact. The second time it happens, memo na 'to.
I love punchers! Gusto ko ngang bumili ng marami kasama nung parang Punch Craft book sa National Bookstore. Nakakainggit!
ReplyDelete@Pink: Gusto ko nga din. Wala lang, cute lang. :D
ReplyDelete