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Diversity is a very favorite word for our generation, unlike for the generations of the past. They were amazed by standardization and by one-size fits all principles. Any customer could have a car painted any color that he wanted so long as it was black. That sure was efficient and efficiency was the principle upon which a civilization of industrialization was based. In that era, the fittest survived. But is this the principle by which we should move forward? If calculated efficiency is what we are striving for, it sure is. Yet, imagine a world where creativity is cut down because it costs. Or where art is unnecessary because it leads to no calculable ends.

Diversity exists everywhere – don’t imagine just diversity of faces, but rather diversity of opinions, experience, skills, culture, background. It is good diversity is now popular again, only if it really is respected, rather than inserted as a hollow claim at the end of a college application form. Diversity broadens perspective and inspires creative change. Efficiency smothers diversity and eliminates beauty. And the beauty of diversity is best depicted in nature, where all parts of a system come together to form a perfectly harmonious, neatly functioning, yet  inspiringly beautiful single organism. In nature, too, the fittest survive, but it is the fitting-est who thrive. Because it is those endeavors that respect a natural habitat, with all its opportunities and limitations that truly blossom. The individuals pursuing them reap the natural powers and peculiarities of a place and put them to productive, yet considerate ends, rather than trying to change and subdue them.

And if all that has come as way too abstract, here comes a simple example – crop rotation. Nature just does not take uniformity; it drains its nurturing powers and suffocates life. Uniformity and single-culture solutions might be the best decision in the short run, but are destructive from a holistic perspective. Those who know best are those closest to the land, two feet buried in soil, not simply taking a stand, but actually doing something about it – the small-scale farmers, whose tomatoes taste better. We are proud to present to you our increasingly diverse family!

Take your pick!