IDIC…from the world of the late Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek. What a wonderful ideal. What does it mean? Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. The Vulcan precept of allowing all beings, regardless of their origin, (remember, we are speaking of the Universe here), the latitude to live by their own cultural standards, and appreciating and honoring the infinite combinations of each life-forms' contribution to the whole.

Diversity can be the 'spice of life' or as it all too often does, adds confusion and misunderstanding to life. We, as human beings, have forgotten how to allow and honor these differences. We have become intolerant and un-compassionate. It starts locally, within the family and grows until it reaches worldwide proportions.

How? To name but a few of the most basic:
Between the sexes, parents and children - the 'generation gap', racial, cultural and religious differences, culminating in disagreements and misunderstanding between nations.

I heard a wonderful, true story that demonstrates how differences in language, the very thing that is supposed to assist us in communication, and cultural misunderstandings can have disastrous consequences.

A young professional from South Africa and his wife came to the United States and he was beginning his internship at a hospital. Like most young professionals he was working to pay off his student loans and could only afford an old Volkswagen Rabbit to drive.

One morning his car wouldn't start, so his wife told him to take her car to work and she would take his car to run some errands and have his car looked at. That was a great idea, so off he went to work in his wife's car.

Sometime in the early afternoon, as he was busy his secretary received a phone call from his wife. She left a message and the secretary was elated with the news and she decided to give him the news verbally.

When the young man got into the office, the secretary said, "The rabbit died." The young man immediately replied unequivocally with, "Well, we will have to get rid of it." The secretary was shocked and a potentially ruinous rumor began when she told her friend at break what had happened. The rumor spread, as rumors do, throughout the hospital in no time at all.

Later that afternoon, the Board of Directors called the young intern into the office to ask why he would say such a thing! The young man was from South Africa, and had no knowledge of the meaning behind the slang term, "the rabbit died". He thought it meant that his Volkswagen Rabbit had 'died', not that his wife had just found out she was pregnant. So, a little misunderstanding on terminology had lead to an embarrassing situation for the secretary and a potentially ruinous situation for the young intern. Thankfully the Board of Directors had the good sense to go to the source and clear up the rumors.

This is but one example of what can happen when we do not pause for a moment and think about our inter-connectedness, our basic commonality as human beings and do not make that longest journey of eighteen inches from our heads to our hearts. It would be of great value to realize that what may be unacceptable in one culture and thought of as a 'bad thing', could be, in another culture, considered to be a good thing.

Perhaps if we re-learn that we can put all the seemingly divisive things to one side and remember that there are more things we share in common; and that we can make a difference in our own small circle of humanity.

We must re-learn to act locally and think globally. We can only affect our local circle of family, friends and business associates. However, when each of us acts locally that sphere of influence grows, circle by circle.

Perhaps we can apply the principles of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations simply by realizing that we have more in common as human beings than we have differences and appreciating those differences to enrich our lives, to become less judgmental, more tolerant, well rounded and balanced as a people.

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Lucinda Schersing, Rev. D.D. is a Usui and Karuna Reiki Master that believes wholeheartedly in the basic Precepts of Reiki and the many meanings of the phrase, “We Are All Related”. You may read more of her articles by visiting: http://www.turtlezen.com
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