My brother, who shares a home with our mother, is a photographer and videographer. Recently Mom was with him while he was setting up to do a video recording of an event that paid tribute to a group of individuals who had served in the military during World War II. We chatted on the phone while she sat at the bar in the hotel drinking coffee and trying to stay out of the way. After a while, people started arriving. She acknowledged the gray heads looked like the right crowd for the event and said,
“At least I have the right hair color to fit in!”
Look for what you have in common with others, rather than what separates you. Seems like a great place to start to me.