Grey for me, please. There are times when I marvel at those who think in black and white terms. I’ve just never been one of them. And for any purists out there, grey and gray are somewhat interchangeable. I prefer grey.
I like to believe I’ve always been a person who considers many angles when creating a perception or making a decision. When younger, I made my share of snap decisions, some which weren’t stellar.
One thing I learned through my twenty five years of teaching was to keep an open mind and to be patient while formulating decisions. I learned I could deal fairly with situations, people, subject matter even when my opinion might have been opposite or negative.
I readily admit it’s probably “easy” to be a black and white thinker. Everything’s cut and dry, easy peasy, and clear as a bell. My feeling is it creates a dichotomy of “either/or” thinking and many situations in life are just not able to be measured in that fashion.
For example, as a sibling I did not like to have someone assume I was like my older sibling. We were vastly different individuals. My older sibling loooooved French class and his teacher. I did not particularly enjoy French, though I was a decent student, and when I ended up in that teacher’s class for French IV and she squealed in delight (really, she did) when she made the connection to my sibling. She quickly discovered my lack of enthusiasm and pestered me. It was the only time I ever asked permission to drop a class in high school. Thankfully I was allowed to do so and picked up Spanish. Spanish was fun and I continued it all the way through college.
That incident stuck in my mind as I became a teacher, and I vowed never to have expectations of any sort if I taught siblings. I taught many students over the years who were siblings and I’m happy to say I never had preconceived notions.
Some might argue that living in a grey world makes life more complicated. I’d say it makes my life more informed. I like to reach my own conclusions but am happy to listen to all sorts of viewpoints and opinions. It’s similar to the saying, “Be kind to everyone, you don’t know what they’re going through.” Just because a person is overweight doesn’t mean he or she is lazy. There might be a physical or mental illness, trauma, addiction, or some other reason. Is it possible the person is lazy or slovenly? Yes, it is possible but is not the lone conclusion.
I don’t really know where I’m headed with this, I’ve kind of lost my train of thought. I do grow frustrated with the “just do it” mentality or the “either/or” way of thinking. Grey is a nice blend. It’s not as stark as black and white in my mind. I’d rather a blend of ideas than one or the other. But that’s me and I respect your right to think differently. Just don’t think to impose it on me.
Stories Are For Eternity 