Big, Beautiful World!

The world is a beautiful place, isn't it?  So rich in diversity!  I have not traveled it extensively by any means, but I feel that one of the blessings of living in a suburban area such as mine is that you get to rub shoulders with a lot of different people!

Take just today for example.  This morning I ventured into the city, a ten minute drive from my home, to teach my weekly ESL class.  Most of our students are Latino, but there is a quiet Iranian woman who wears some beautiful head scarves and an elderly Chinese woman with a big, toothy smile and a passionate zeal to learn.  After that I drove to Lancaster County to visit my Mennonite friend for spiritual direction.  Then I made a stop at an Amish grocery store where I listened to a conversation between the Amish girl with a Dutch accent behind the counter and her customers--a short, elderly couple with a strong Asian accent.  That's when it hit me.  Wow!  Such diversity!  In my own backyard!

Two weekends ago I had another experience that struck me with how huge, but also how close, the world is.  I attended a spiritual retreat at a Jesuit Center, only fifteen minutes from my home.  If you don't know much about the Jesuits as I hadn't, they are a priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church.  At this enormous, grand Jesuit Center with statues and stained glass windows was a quiet Quaker woman who gave a seminar on the topic of discernment.  The woman who sat beside me during the seminar was a first generation Philipino-American pastor. And the other retreatants I met during the weekend seemed to come from a wide range of faith backgrounds.

I am often reminded that my story, my understanding and experience of life, is just that... mine.  There are countless other stories, understandings, and experiences that are separate from my own.  Our world is definitely getting smaller, and if I want to get along with my neighbors, I must listen to their stories.  I must try to understand other perspectives.  I must be willing to learn from my brothers and sisters from around the globe and from my brothers and sisters who may have a different faith perspective than my own.

This is a part of the "glo-burban" journey I am on.  I believe it is the journey of life.