Day 2 ~ Simple Kindergarten Psychology

Day 2

Jan 2, 2014

My First: I'm writing a blog for the first time saying something that I've been wanting to put in writing for a long time.

If you've heard the quote “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”, you’ll relate to this:

·        Several years ago I was attending a wrestling meet to watch a young man I know who is actually my ex-husband’s step grandson. While sitting on the bleachers and watching one of the matches, my ex-husband’s step granddaughter asked me (out of the blue) “Are people the same or are they different”. Well! I in all my wisdom proceeded to explain to this little kindergarten-aged girl that I thought people were very different. She thought about it for a while and then wisely said, “Yea, but I think they’re the same too”.  Humbled by my newly-discovered lack of depth, I admitted to her that, yes, they are the same.  The story happened just that way and I have told it many times. It still amazes me to this day that this little girl had it figured out and I (with all my adult jadedness) was bogged down in dwelling on our differences.

*        A few weeks ago I had the opportunity of spending the day (delivering candy as Christmas gifts) with a female student majoring in psychology. Oh boy! I love talkin’ psychology! I asked her what is the ONE THING that she got from all her psychology classes that she believes epitomizes all that she has learned thus far. She pondered for about all of 30 seconds and then said, “I think it would be that people are different but then they are the same too”.  OMG! My mind immediately went back to my little friend sitting with me on the bleachers at that wrestling meet! She learned this in kindergarten!


*      “People are different, but they are the same too.” What a concept! It’s a duh, right? You believe you get it, right? Do you?  Really?  I've often encouraged my son (who does his share of writing) to use analogies or real life experiences to help people to relate and therefore more easily understand what he is getting  at. Well, here is my simple real life experience:


*      My friend was over yesterday and we were both sitting at my kitchen table looking at something on my laptop. I inadvertently spilled some of my coffee on my keyboard. Horrors! My friend quickly got up and brought some towels to the table while I flipped over the laptop to get the bulk of the liquid out before any damage was done. We both reacted so immediately with the “same” end in mind: save the computer! However, we spontaneously chose “different” ways to remedy the situation: she with the towels and I with flipping over the laptop.  In that frantic moment, we were the same, but we were different. Guess that holds true for all of us in every moment. So let’s just go with it!