Namaste

“Imagine what impact this single word – Namaste – could have on the world if every day you looked each person that you passed in the eye and said in effect: I salute the Divine within you. I salute what you do best. I salute your natural gifts. I honor your uniqueness and your specialness.” Kevin Hall

This traditional Indian greeting is a gesture of respect, and respect is at the core of understanding diversity. Each of us possesses many unique characteristics that are often described as dimensions of diversity. They include obvious characteristics such as age, ethnicity, sex, mental or physical abilities, and race.  They also include other, not so obvious characteristics, such as education, military experience, religious beliefs, work experience, work and communication styles and, yes those special talents and gifts that we all possess.

At a time when we are experiencing so much divisiveness in our society, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all take the time to heed Kevin Hall’s advice and incorporate it into our daily routine. It may not be realistic to stop and say it out loud to everyone you pass - but take the time to mentally honor the uniqueness and special gifts of others, especially people who appear to be different from you. Listen to colleagues in meetings. Hear what they have to say. Don’t make assumptions about people around you. 

We’ve gathered a number of blogs we’ve written over the years into a new e-booklet entitled “Diversity & Discrimination”. You can find it at www.bigbookofhr.com. Feel free to download a copy. 

Namaste.