RESPECTING THE DIFFERENCES IN OUR PREFERENCES
W e all have close people in our lives…. Some of them are very, very close. But, ‘closeness’ does not mean we should hold the same political, religious and other beliefs. It does not mean we should follow the same eating, dressing and living habits. Some of my close friends do not eat non-vegetarian food, while I do. Some blindly follow a certain political party or its leader; I don’t. Some love big cars and houses; I am fine with a small house and no car. Yet, for years, there has never been a dent in our closeness… Yes, despite these differences in our preferences. In my view, the dent in our closeness comes: when we are unwilling to accommodate our differences in our preferences… Like in our eating or praying habits… Or, when we are willing to root for our political leader more than our close friends… When we are willing to let our years of closeness fall apart, just to win an argument and prove a point. S ome days ago, I found myself discussing, with o...