Finding Common Ground

A couple of weeks ago, I had a conversation with a woman that has stuck with me. I've actually found myself repeating one phrase she said over and over again.

We were talking about why she volunteers as a greeter at a local nonprofit, and here's what she said:

You can always find common ground if you dig deep enough.

I've been rolling those words through my mind again and again. She probably doesn't think about it anymore, but I sure am.

Your husband, family and close friends are probably easy to talk to because you already have common ground between you. But what about the checker at the grocery store? The new people at church? The neighbor that you haven't really spoken to? Those might be a little more intimidating.

So why don't we take the time to dig deep enough and find the common ground? Here are the few reasons I came up with, just off the top of my head:

* Fear
* Laziness
* Comfort Zone
* Fear
* Disinterest
* Judgmental Attitude
* Fear

But if we never approach people, we're losing out on some amazing opportunities. As a newspaper reporter, I have a shoe in the door to talk to several new people every day. If you're not in a position to talk like this, it might be a little more difficult.

So picture this - you can either shut yourself off and never find common ground with anyone, or you can put forth the effort to dig a little deeper and find your common ground with many different people. Think of all those opportunities to be a blessing, to share your testimony and to brighten someone's day with a smile.

If there some common ground around you that you need to excavate?

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