The speaker, Dr. David Anderson (not the Safe Families guy but an equally effective presenter), quoted this African parable:
When I saw him from afar,
I thought he was a monster.
When he got closer,
I thought he was just an animal.
When he got closer,
I recognized that he was a human.
When we were face to face,
I realized that he was my brother.
I recognized that he was a human.
When we were face to face,
I realized that he was my brother.
It reminds me of a song that my brothers used to sing when we were teenagers. You can check it out here if you dare. (My brothers are strange people).
Since my teen years I have recognized that as long as people are at a distance, we can develop our own story about who they are. It takes courage for us to get close enough to someone to understand them. Once we take those steps with an open heart, eager to understand, miracles happen.
Because after all each of us is worth more than gold….
