Shades of Grey

Tell me, where did your mind just go? *wink*  Well, my shades are considerably more boring. 

For years I was frustrated at every political discussion I had.  I was frustrated about every social issue discussion too.  Oh, and schools?  Yep, frustrated too. 

The process would look like this:
Other Person:  All cows should be blue.  Period.
Me:  But not all cows are blue.
OP:  But they should be.  Blue or yellow.
Me:  But the truth is that some are green.
OP:  But cows have historically been blue and yellow and they shouldn't change.
Me:  But there are so many reasons why cows aren't always blue and yellow and we need to consider those.
OP:  Nope.  Blue or yellow.
Me: grrrrrrrr (leaves conversation)

When my counselor asked me to describe myself the other day I said that I am the greyest person I know.  She laughed and asked me to explain.  I told her that for any statement she gives me, I'll likely to find several different points that would both support and discount it.  I told her that I usually cheer for the team who is losing, even if I switch sides every inning.  I spend a lot of time explaining my reasoning behind everything and I often get frustrated.

Her response was that it was all awesome.  And then I laughed.

Most people in this world have a very black/white outlook on life.  They are very absolute about what they think and believe.  Me?  I'm the opposite.  She said that in her practice, she spends a lot of time with those black/white people trying to get them to understand the grey areas as those people have a hard time seeing that there could be any other answer, other than A or B. 

Interesting. 

But I explained that it frustrated me when I talked with others that they couldn't see the things that I see.  She acknowledged this and said that while hard, it must make me a pretty understanding person.  When I thought about it, I agreed. (toots my own horn...) 

What I left with was a new understanding about not only myself, but those around me.  I feel a lot like the person who's always saying, "But, what about this?"  And while that may be true, I also help people think about things that they had not or could not even think about in many situations.  Maybe that's why I like being a probation/parole agent so much?