Pancakes

No, not that kind literally (but they do look good!)

This thought has been rattling around in my head lately:
"There is no pancake so thin that it doesn't have two sides."

This is an oft quoted phrase in our home. It means that in every situation, there are at least two sides, at least two points of view and many differences in viewing situations and ways in doing things. Given the profession of many of our family members, considering the point of view of all parties is a predominant theme.

I believe the pancake statement to be true. It's something I acknowledge that I continue to work on by recognizing that I don't have a corner on the one and only perfect one-sided pancake or approach to life. Have you noticed what happens if a pancake isn't flipped in a timely fashion? One side burns while the other side remains uncooked! It's certainly doesn't look like the pictures above and it isn't appetizing or desirable. No one has a corner on the correct way to do things. There are as many ways to accomplish a goal as there are goals. There is no correct way to do any given task. There is only the way a person is the most comfortable with, which may or may not be the best way. There may be a handful of situations where an exact procedure needs to be followed, but most situations and traditions allow for variety in methods used to achieve the end result. There are traditions and procedures that become habits and people are generally very protective of their own traditions and procedures for accomplishing something, but that doesn't necessarily mean it is the BEST way. It's just a way, maybe even a good way, but not the only way. As I see it, problems often arise when someone feels like their way is being called into question. They usually become very protective and resistant to what they may perceive as an attack on their way of doing something or their point of view. After all, their way has been effective over the course of time and they generally want other people to support it (maybe even admire it and copy it.)
More than likely, everyone has had dealings with people who think that their side of the pancake is the only side of the pancake. They don't want the pancake to be flipped. They don't want to even consider a different point of view. Or, how about those who become defensive if you simply try to explain your view from your side of the pancake? They may feel like you are trying to attack their side of the pancake when all you are really tying to do is flip the darn thing.
Sometimes people of similar persuasions and thought processes band together to push their point of view off on others and to try and sway them into a certain way of thinking, or they belittle other points of view as being lesser in value than their own. Are you open to different points of view and different ways of doing things? How open are you to acknowledging that no pancake is so thin that it doesn't have two sides?