The Quest

I woke this morning to an email from one of my Latvian friends. She is one of those people who instantly knew me, deep in my soul, as soon as we met. Has that ever happened to you? I've been lucky to have it happen many times in my life. In addition to the wonderfully strong women in my own family, I have felt the influence of powerful mentors throughout my life. I hesitate to name names, because I couldn't possibly name all of them. But I'm going to anyway, just to give you a sense. There was Helen Jennings, who taught my Sunday School class when I was just a kid. She had the strength of a farmer's wife, a mom, a sense of right and wrong, and an innate knowledge of when to distribute hugs and when enough was enough. Her sister, Mary Ann Gestes, shared that same sense. My teachers in school were almost all strong women... I remember one in particular, Mrs. Bonner (her first name was Gloria, like my mother, but my 2nd and 3rd grade self could never call her that). Sh...

This morning I was watching a series of TED talks on diversity in preparation for an interview at an organization that provides training on workplace diversity and inclusion. As I was absorbing these words of wisdom, I began to reflect on my own circle of influence (which includes you, dear reader). This brought me to my trusty friends list on Facebook. What I found was that most of us share a very similar demographic. There are a few from other countries, a few from other races, but the vast majority are people very similar to me. We share the same culture, and similar backgrounds... on the surface. Yet when I think of each person on that list, I think of what makes them unique. I am reminded how we first met. Some I was born into knowing. Some I've known since Kindergarten. Some I met literally yesterday. Some speak a different language than me (some more than one). Some I've never met in person (though most I have). Some have a very unique family lineage, and others don...