You might not be wrong.
Anybody who knows Ian knows he enjoys exchanging ideas of a philosophical nature. I - depending on who you ask - might be the same. Yesterday Ian and I debated for a good 70 minutes, and I left profoundly changed.
No, I do not concede Ian's points. Nor do I think I lost to Ian. But I believe something better came from the conversation—a decision.
Now, instead of trying to hold on to my ideas, I chose to see the world Ian's way - for me to tell myself the story he tells himself. That act requires a choice - to abandon the need to be right and embrace the opportunity to learn something new.
Am I suddenly embracing Ian's - obviously wrong because they're not mine - views? No. But I can see where he comes from and why he might think he's right.
That's important, not because it allows me to connect with Ian. But because it enables me to integrate Ian's ideas with mine. That act of integration makes things better.
Others become less of a threat when we realize the others are a lot like us. Like you, they have beautifully complicated stories and want to make things better by making better things.
Oh! Belated Happy Birthday to our reader - Charlene. Charlene taught me how to make things better by enabling and encouraging me to try ideas out, go outside my comfort zone, fail fast, and learn.
