We could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. —Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
With all the bitter divides in the U.S. and around the world, and the violence that comes with them, it’s hard to believe that human beings can create community with each other. But we can and we do—as this well-known video proves. Get a bunch of strangers together, give them an uplifting surprise, and watch the joy spread!
When I see this 5-minute video, I think back to an experience Thomas Merton had when he needed to leave the monastery for a medical appointment in Louisville, KY, and found himself in a crowded shopping district:
“I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self-isolation in a special world.”
So many of our divides are manipulated by people in power who play an old and deadly game called “divide and conquer.” Let’s tell them we refuse to play games in which people get hurt and die. Let’s choose life!
When we do, we’ll find our differences taking on less importance, as we start to see the Light in every human being—even when they cannot see it themselves. On that foundation, we can build a better world.
Parker J. Palmer
I’m a Midwesterner, a grandfather, and a Quaker. Throughout my life, I’ve focused on education, leadership, community, spirituality, and social change. I’m co-founder of the Center for Courage & Renewal and the author of ten books, including: The Courage to Teach and the newly updated Healing the Heart of Democracy. These days, I strive to create and support community through my Facebook page and The Growing Edge podcast and newsletter with Carrie Newcomer.
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I read The PIague when I was a junior at Notre Dame, in 1978. I’d been given an assignment to write a paper about the book but had confused deadlines, and I realized at about 6 p.m. one evening that the paper was due at 9 a.m. the next morning – and I hadn’t read a page, had no idea what it was about.
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