What Can "Autumn" Teach Us About Diversity And Inclusion
Updated: Mar 8, 2025
Written by: Shreesha Khare, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As I was walking down where autumn leaves were welcoming me over, my attention was pulled by two trees: one was decorated with beautiful autumn leaves, orange in colour, and the other was completely naked. This gives me a spot on Aha! Aha! moment of contrasting colours in nature; how beautifully trees are becoming their true selves in each season and lovingly co-creating nature overall. By fully growing, they are collaborating in harmony with each other by birthing at the same place. Nature in its diverse forms also embraces grey as a colour alongside the unique palette of nature enhanced by sunlight. It makes me wonder, then, why and what forces humans to focus on just black despite being surrounded by diversity and inclusivity? Aren’t we just part of this nature as the highest form of the human kingdom species?
Have you ever observed a cherry tree in autumn? How does it look?
If not, then read this and imagine: they are glossy leaves by touch, and their semi-ovate leaves turn into shades of bronze, gold, and red in autumn. Autumn cherry trees thrive in sunlight but can tolerate partial shade. The cherry season is also a season of hope and love, peace, and sustainable development.
The autumnal season is a reflection of how Mother Nature sheds the grabs of the past and decks herself up with new beginnings.
Imagine this conversation in nature in the autumn season.
The red colour said to the yellow one, "You are a threat to me; you have no right to exist in nature."
What if yellow said to brown, "You are born to crush; there is no place for you"
And what if brown said to green, "Why do you exist?" "You are not necessary."
You would have never been able to see these beautiful fall colours in just one leaf. In one leaf, there are so many shades of colour. This same question applies to people: are you seriously ok with seeing one shade of colour your whole life? Are you really into seeing one kind of personality in people?
Imagine going to a restaurant and ordering the same food every time, or going to a shopping centre and buying the same kind of dress every year.
It is our differences that keep us intact together; can we appreciate that? What perspective do you hold around them? Are you happy to live in a quarrel ‒ and friction-filled environment, costing your peace every single time?
It is easy in our human nature to focus more on differences, which brings fights and threats to each other than changing the perspective. If we really want to live a happy and peaceful life on this planet earth in harmony with other beings of the human kingdom, we must have tolerance and learn new ways of doing the same things. Irrespective of the wood sizes, when they are bonded together, they are stronger, and no one can harm them. Differences make you alive and joyful.
What makes diversity work?
The same way a car operates through fuel, humans operate in their daily functional lives through emotions. It is the regulation of emotions that causes them to project their behaviours, actions, and perspectives onto themselves and their external environment. Emotional intelligence is a daily driver; it’s up to us to make a right turn towards the journey despite the bumps on the road. It is about working together despite all the differences, serving each other, being empathic about others, and being closely included.
Diversity means when you have self-awareness about yourself, then only you can understand what the other person is going through. In diversity, emotional intelligence is an important area. Before you step out and mention anyone as a "person of colour" or judge them based on race, caste, age, looks, gender, mindset, and all the rest, have a self-reflection session with yourself. Understand what triggers emotions in you, own it, empathise with people, and be a consciously awakened being. Just see what you are saying, writing, and reading, which reflects your actions.
We see diversity as more of an intellectual endeavour, but it is also about emotions, as it is the first step towards diversity and inclusivity: diving inward to better understand how to project outside. We need to observe our behaviours toward ourselves as other people are mirror reflections for us.
It runs on three concepts:
Emotions
Perceptions
Change, which runs on the mechanism that first things get unfrozen, brings change and then refreezes.
Our perception, human perception, and world view are based on where people are born, gender, our life experiences, and our bodies. People see the world through their own eyes, despite having different perceptions. When we were kids, messages we received, "Who are we?" And how should we see others? have a great impact on people.
People from all walks of life, be they engineers, marketers, or sales people, will see each other differently; it is not about the interpretation but how they are seeing things; they will hold different viewpoints. What do you think when people with different world views and experiences drawn from their own lives interact with each other and come into contact?
A problem arises in communication, and then only people get confused about their world view based on their life experiences and the truth that they believe is true. Truth is always not what you see, hear and speak but lies beneath it. Psychologically, it is easy to say, "You are right," and what others see is crazy and unreasonable. That is the time people start feeling unsafe, which freezes some people into not expressing what they are feeling.
Every year trees shed their leaves without compunction because they are aware that they are safe in knowing that in spring new leaves will be dressed in all freshness and new life. Similarly, people will feel safe when they know they are being accepted as they are, in all shades, embracing innovative and neurodiverse thinking and not marking them as "wrong" or "can’t exist."
It is indifference that brings negative vibes into society; diversity is all about being unique and celebrating differences. In our indifference towards people, we lose the opportunity to learn and grow.
Take advantage of a diverse environment just like your cocktail party; don’t let this life party swirl with falling leaves.
Namaste!
Shreesha Khare, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Shreesha Khare is an author and an inspirational thought leader, aka a leading luminary. She is walking on the path of "Self-Illumination" to be more of her true self, share more of her personal experiences, and change the lives of others through her own journey of personal transformation. There is a deep internal desire in her to take all of what she has learned and help others along their path. She believes that suffering is the key to unlocking our greatest gifts. She is the Founder and Chief humanitarian Being at S&S Co-Space for Humanity, a boutique where you will be served with coaching and guidance of self-love and self-actualization, is like taking a journey into the inner cosmic world.
