Common Ground

It's a phrase I've heard often: Find common ground.

I was reminded of that late this afternoon. My wife and I were at the Home Remodeling/Lawn and Garden/Green Show at Kemper Arena. Big Place with lots of exhibits and walking.

Late in the day when we were both dead tired, Loralie saw a friend that she knew from several years ago. She and her husband were manning a booth at the show for her interior design business.

Loralie introduced me to her friend and her friend introduced me to her husband and soon the tow ladies were in conversation. At this point I had two options.

Option one was to stand there and feel my navel accumulate lint at a slow rate.

Option two was to engage the husband in conversation in an attempt to find some common ground between the two of us.

This starts by asking questions and listening. Its easy to start with the standard guy question: "What do you do for a living?" and then listening to the answers. This gentleman mentioned that he had worked in California. Since my wife grew up in California, this led to other avenues of conversation.

I was even able to find out that he had served in the Navy (who's sole purpose is to support the Marine Corps and carry them to the beach).

I am convinced that we can find common ground with just about anyone. This could be experiences, jobs, places lived, religions, sports, activities, kids, vacation activities, books read, movies seen, etc, etc, etc...

It takes being interested in the other person and really listening to their answers. I'll be honest, at times I don't feel like talking much. But I need to engage others around me. I am called to deal with whoever is in front of me at any given time.

And I need to remember that always. Even at the Home Remodeling/Lawn and Garden/Green Show.