I’m fascinated by dimensions. I am literally dumbfounded by how many different dimensions there are to a person - traits, interests, quirks, temperament, love languages, passions, and everything else that makes up the different sides of each person. I love that some of these dimensions are “hand-me-downs,” things passed on from generation to generation. While other things are learned, acquired, and sought after… I love living in a world where there are so many unique individuals with the capacity for a multitude of interactions.
But like everything, there is a downside to these multi-dimensions… This downside can occur when instead of complimenting each other, these differences collide.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea lately... I guess you could say that a simple Christmas gift is what started this rabbit trail of thought. At Christmas, both my dad and brother received a Rubik's Cube – a toy my brother played with as a child and found VERY frustrating. After a while of twists and turns, he found it so frustrating he took the stickers off and tried to rearrange them. When that didn’t work, he then took the whole cube apart and put it back together in order. Way to defeat the purpose, hey?
But it brought an interesting thought to mind. If people are so multi-dimensional, it’s no wonder we have communication errors, broken relationships, and personality conflicts. There are so many different combinations, so many things that need to line up just right in order for things to work – just like a Rubik's Cube needs to be lined up according to color in order to be “solved.”
However, I wonder how many of us respond to these multi-dimension conflicts in the same way my brother responded to his Rubik's Cube? I wonder how often, instead of putting in the time and effort to “crack the code” or to solve the puzzle, we try to cheat our way there. My brother was young, and my not have understood the point of the Rubik's Cube… He just knew what the end product was, and wanted to get there as soon as possible. And I know there are times where I’ve done that with people… I’ve glossed over a conflict, or a gap in communication in order to make the relationship what I wanted it to be, or so that I could continue on my merry way without a whole lot of hassle.
But what would our relationships look like if we were able to spend more time trying get things aligned the way they’re supposed to, where our differences compliment instead of collide? How would our communication change if we recognized the many dimensions people own, and worked on trying to better understand them? And how much richer would our dimensions be if we only gave each other room to exist in them?
It can be a long, and frustrating process. It can seem near impossible at times. But it can be done. A Rubik's Cube CAN be solved, and people CAN learn to understand each others dimensions.
It all depends on how many twists and turns we’re willing to endure.
