What comes to mind when you hear the word--diversity? Issues of race or gender may spring to mind.Equal rights? Or minority issues?

　　I encourage people to look at a much wider definition of the word.1 would tend to say diversity is “differentness” in any form.A good example of this kind of diversity has been experienced by every person who ever left behind the comforts of home and moved into uncharted territory.Issues of diversity are informed not only by your cultural background and context，but also by your religion，age，field of work，family situation， personality，and countless other factors that make us unique.Diversity affects everyone.

　　It’s for this reason that diversity has become such a buzz word.The buzz happens because it’s all about how you handle it.It’s very much like the job a composer has when creating agreat musical composition.If the composer understands what each unique note and dynamic mark is capable of in combination with the other parts，the result achieved is extraordinary.If, however，none of the parts is communicating with the others，we’re left with a cacophony(刺耳的声音).

　　On a personal level.it’s this understanding and acceptance of “the other” which rests at the core of diversity.Whether we’re talking about navigating through a multicultural urban environment or uprooting and moving to a new foreign social context，it is necessary to set aside rigid assumptions about “the other” and put oneself in the other's shoes. So how do we make this leap? It's often as simple as asking questions and being careful not to assume that what you see is necessarily what the other side sees.

　　Often in my workshops I give a magic lesson to the audience to illustrate this principle. I first present the magic and accomplish the "impossible". The participants receive the same props but simply can't manage. We look more carefully at the situation and realize that the assumptions they made about it actually blocked them from achieving this feat; a feat they suddenly are empowered to do which, moments ago, was impossible.

　　The goal in being sensitive to diversity is to cultivate a culture of respect for people's differences and understand that such an environment is beneficial to everyone involved.

　　Diversity awareness is an evolution. We can't get there by snapping our fingers, and it isn't a matter of training people to have textbook politically correct attitudes. Instead it's a case of looking at the big picture of how we see the world, understanding why we see it that way, and then making sure we do our part to genuinely value difference and benefit from it.

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