The other day, I was on my computer at a coffee shop. There were two women sitting across the room from me at two separate tables. Suddenly, a woman walked in with her young son who, I’m guessing was three or four years old. While she placed her order at the counter, her son walked over to an empty table, pulled out a chair, dragged it over to one of the women seated alone, and sat down directly across from her at her table. The woman was astonished. He said hello to the woman and she smiled and laughed and asked the boy how he was. He then moved to the second woman and did the same thing with her. In fact, she taught him how to introduce himself to someone new and they had a very heartwarming and sweet moment before the boy’s mom came over to see what he was doing. After a few words, the mother and son left the coffee shop, leaving the three of us with big smiles on our faces.
Soon after, I said to the women, “We would probably never dream of doing that, would we?” They agreed. Most of us would never approach a stranger for fear of encroaching on their space, or interrupting their thoughts, or simply being afraid of what they might think. As children, we see each other as human beings, but as adults, we divide ourselves into countries, religions, organizations, teams, gangs, and groups. I’m not saying that this is always a bad thing. It can actually be a good thing when the goal is to unite people with common interests. But often, they set boundaries, highlight differences and perpetuate competition, resistance, and fear. Is it naïve to think about the human race as a single, cohesive group? I think so, but there’s nothing wrong with being naïve and in some ways, that’s exactly what John Lennon was doing in his song Imagine:
Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do.
Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too.
Imagine all the people living life in peace…
Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can.
No need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people, sharing all the world.
You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one…
Ohh Linda, thank you so, so much for this post. What a heartwarming anecdote. Indeed, children are so open and accepting - as people grow older, they feel more compelled to act and think in a way that is highly influenced by societal ideals, and by doing so, they lose touch with the little kid inside of all of us that just wants to reach out and love everyone. This is why little kids are so inspiring - they remind us that we are all human, and we all want to be loved.
ReplyDeleteThat was so beautifully said Luyi and I couldn't agree with you more...
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