Accepting Other People

I had the good fortune to have brunch with two of my cousins this past weekend. It’s really wonderful when there are people in one’s family that are truly enjoyable to be around, and these two are that. I’m blessed to have relationships in my adult life with my cousins that I did not have – for a variety of reasons – when I was a child. We find so many common experiences, though, and also are able to share at a very deep and meaningful level. By the end of the brunch, they had “adopted” me as their other sister!

I have to admit while I love the holidays, I hate the holiday crowds and the bad feelings that seem to circulate at this time of the year. Going to the mall is a nightmare – no parking spaces, people pushing everywhere and fighting for a bargain as if it will make the difference in their lives. I listen to the advertisements for the “perfect” gift and I can’t help but think about the families and children who watch it all but can’t participate in it due to financial or other constraints.

I love this time of the year – preparing for the holidays. I especially enjoy shopping for less fortunate children, and volunteering my time. But when I am alone my most favorite aspect is listening to the Christmas music. We have a radio station that started playing all holiday music the day after Halloween, which is fine with me! One of the songs I really like is often sung by Amy Grant, “Grown-up Christmas List.” She sings about all of the things she’d like to have for Christmas – love, peace and an end to hunger.

Last week I was interviewed on a very lively nighttime talk show in a major city. I’ve been asked often lately to comment on the “Occupy” movements in different cities, and I thought that would be the direction of our conversation. Instead, the host had a number of insights and ideas he wanted to share with his listeners, and he was talking about many difficulties that the unemployed and lower-level employed are facing. Next, he took a call from a listener who vehemently disagreed with his line of thinking and his insights.

The other day I was driving with a colleague of mine to a meeting, and we came to a four-way STOP intersection. Where I live these are everywhere, and the “courtesy” is that you have to wait your turn. Each car at each of the four stops gets a chance to go in order, and then the next one, and the next one. For the most part, the system works pretty well. On this particular day, we were sitting waiting for our turn and when it came, and we started to go left, the car across from us (turning right to go on the same street) went out of turn and went in front of us.

Last week I was working with a corporate client on transition issues within their firm. The company president, “Ted,” was lamenting to me that his staff was far too lax on quality control. They had prepared material both for internal review and for external distribution that was not correct and had errors. Ted was expressing his concern that each individual in his firm didn’t have a sense of pride for what they do, but rather seemed to do the minimum to get by. He felt their behavior reflected badly on his firm.