And why is diversity always defined, at least to start with, by race and colour? In the same school parking lot we have a fabulous diversity in terms of professions (business owners, garbage truck driver, bush pilot, army lawyer, accountant, farmer, stay-at-home parents, nutritionist, childminder, yoga instructor, carpenter, teacher, retired circus performer...), religion, education, money, rural vs urban (former and current lives), commuters and home-office folk, divorced/together/single parents and one set of 4 co-parents, etc etc. One day last week it was all dads doing the noon kindergarten pick-up. Sarah took a fermentation workshop from two of the moms, and I go to vocal improv class led by another mom.
But even with that broadened scope of "diversity", it still sounds an awful lot like "I've got a black friend." The measure of diversity is not something you can count, but something you live, or rather how you live. It's about how open I am to learning about and from other people. How often and deeply I am challenged in how I view and interact with the world. How many times someone helps open my eyes a little wider, thinking "I've lived for almost 42 years and never thought that or that way before." How willing I am to sit with someone who maybe makes me feel uncomfortable.
So tonight I sit in this predominantly white town and lift my water glass to the patchwork diversity that colours my world. There may not be a great burrito or Ethiopian joint in town, but there's certainly a rich tapestry of peoples and cultures to learn from and grow with.
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As a white South African, born of Canadian father, with Swiss Italian wife and children who have the choice of four nationalities, I enjoyed this one... Thanks, Rick.
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