Variety is the Spice of Life...

That is one of my favorite sayings and something that I always tell my family. Sometimes you just have to mix it up, you know? You can't have vanilla every night, sometimes chocolate, rocky road and even pistachio are preferred. Change and variety exposes us to new things and, at the same time, helps us appreciate our tried and true favorites.

What can be said of ice cream can also be said of people, opinions, food spices, religion and just about any other topic. When I tell my eight year old that the world would be pretty boring if we all liked the same things, I mean it. Life would be pretty dull if we all liked dragons, Harry Potter and vanilla..... Sometimes you need that person who likes pistachio to stir things up.

It is the same with opinions. Everybody doesn't see things the same way. We can't. We all have differing points of view because we all have different life experiences that shape the way we think and feel. That's ok because life would be pretty boring if we always agreed. I actually enjoy having friends who have a multitude of varying opinions on everything from politics to religion. I'm a curious person and I love to hear the varying points of view. I think that this helps me grow as a person. It exposes me to more and it challenges me to really test what I believe.

Some people though just don't seem to have any room in their lives for variety. I find that so sad. I mean, people aren't really connected by a single brain. Occasionally even friends have a difference of opinion. If your friendship can't survive that, how much of a friendship was it really?