Things are NOT what they seem
Imagine this scene:
You are driving down a rural road, when a frantic, tall, black man jump into your path.
He is bare chested and sweaty and he wears nothing but a pair of torn, cut off shorts.
He is also bare footed, and and drops of sweat are dripping down his body.
Against his black skin, they glisten in the sun like diamonds...
The first instinct you may have, is to stir the car out of his way, to accelerate, until he is nothing more “threatening” than a small dot in the rearview mirror.
But I am NOT a person who acts on first instincts.
I contemplate my thoughts and my actions many times.
So I suggest we stop.
We do not live in an area populated with many black people.
I often wonder why it is so.....
It is beautiful here after all.
The area is filled with unspoiled nature, plenty of fun things to do to enhance your life, like; hiking, fishing, plenty of nature trails, lakes, skiing, wild flowers and mushroom hunting, kayaking, rafting, and more.
It is truly a stunning place.
Well, back to the story...
So, we stop the car, lower the window, ask if he needs help.
Yes! he says with joy.
His hands are on the back door’s handle.
He needs a ride back to the highway where he had left his van.
Before we have a chance to say yes, he is sitting in the back seat.
Now, we love people, we trust people, and we enjoy people- so we do NOT perceive the situation as threatening.
But I have been hearing stories about people who opened up their “private” space (online or otherwise) to other people, that they did not know, and how some of these situations had turned out to be very uncomfortable or even a threatening.
For the purpose of staying true to the truth, I must admit that I am not sure here, but I seem to remember his name was Moses.
I DO remember his story though.
He told it to us, as we drove down the river road, towards his van.
Moses was born and raised in Zimbabwe.
He came to the USA to teach and to guide groups of people to “White Water raft”, on the Colorado river.
Today, he admits with a wide smile, (the whitest teeth I had seen in the back seat of my car- ever), that he is guiding a group of more than a dozen people, and that he forgot all the paddles.
Moses learned to raft on the Zambezi River.
Moses love the Zambezi and proudly tells us that it is a wide and exciting river that flows through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
It finally discharges into the Indian Ocean at its delta in Mozambique.
It is a mighty river that evokes mystery and story telling.
He said that rafting is his passion.
He said that he was shocked, at how narrow the Colorado River is at some places.
We chat about the fact that at one point, the Colorado River was also a wide and majestic river. It used to cross the USA and flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
But then, people fell in love with Arizona and decided to make it their home.
Now, the Colorado River is used to provide much more than drinking water to Arizona, it is used to water endless lawns and many golf courses across that beautiful state.
We chat about traveling, about rivers, about cycling and about diving.
Moses is amazed that I love to dive. (addicted to it.. in fact.)
He asked if I am not terrified of water snakes....
I raise my eyes in astonishment?.....
Moses says he always thought that the oceans are filled with dangerous water snakes.
I should NOT have been so astounded.
I know that we live in our own minds, cultivate our own ideas and that we do or do not do things based on our preconceptions.
We drop Moses at the bottom of the road, by the highway and we hug all around.
I am happy!
We took a situation that could have been lost, due to pre judgement or fear, and used it to make a connection with a brother on this earth.
You are driving down a rural road, when a frantic, tall, black man jump into your path.
He is bare chested and sweaty and he wears nothing but a pair of torn, cut off shorts.
He is also bare footed, and and drops of sweat are dripping down his body.
Against his black skin, they glisten in the sun like diamonds...
The first instinct you may have, is to stir the car out of his way, to accelerate, until he is nothing more “threatening” than a small dot in the rearview mirror.
But I am NOT a person who acts on first instincts.
I contemplate my thoughts and my actions many times.
So I suggest we stop.
We do not live in an area populated with many black people.
I often wonder why it is so.....
It is beautiful here after all.
The area is filled with unspoiled nature, plenty of fun things to do to enhance your life, like; hiking, fishing, plenty of nature trails, lakes, skiing, wild flowers and mushroom hunting, kayaking, rafting, and more.
It is truly a stunning place.
Well, back to the story...
So, we stop the car, lower the window, ask if he needs help.
Yes! he says with joy.
His hands are on the back door’s handle.
He needs a ride back to the highway where he had left his van.
Before we have a chance to say yes, he is sitting in the back seat.
Now, we love people, we trust people, and we enjoy people- so we do NOT perceive the situation as threatening.
But I have been hearing stories about people who opened up their “private” space (online or otherwise) to other people, that they did not know, and how some of these situations had turned out to be very uncomfortable or even a threatening.
For the purpose of staying true to the truth, I must admit that I am not sure here, but I seem to remember his name was Moses.
I DO remember his story though.
He told it to us, as we drove down the river road, towards his van.
Moses was born and raised in Zimbabwe.
He came to the USA to teach and to guide groups of people to “White Water raft”, on the Colorado river.
Today, he admits with a wide smile, (the whitest teeth I had seen in the back seat of my car- ever), that he is guiding a group of more than a dozen people, and that he forgot all the paddles.
Moses learned to raft on the Zambezi River.
Moses love the Zambezi and proudly tells us that it is a wide and exciting river that flows through Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
It finally discharges into the Indian Ocean at its delta in Mozambique.
It is a mighty river that evokes mystery and story telling.
He said that rafting is his passion.
He said that he was shocked, at how narrow the Colorado River is at some places.
We chat about the fact that at one point, the Colorado River was also a wide and majestic river. It used to cross the USA and flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
But then, people fell in love with Arizona and decided to make it their home.
Now, the Colorado River is used to provide much more than drinking water to Arizona, it is used to water endless lawns and many golf courses across that beautiful state.
We chat about traveling, about rivers, about cycling and about diving.
Moses is amazed that I love to dive. (addicted to it.. in fact.)
He asked if I am not terrified of water snakes....
I raise my eyes in astonishment?.....
Moses says he always thought that the oceans are filled with dangerous water snakes.
I should NOT have been so astounded.
I know that we live in our own minds, cultivate our own ideas and that we do or do not do things based on our preconceptions.
We drop Moses at the bottom of the road, by the highway and we hug all around.
I am happy!
We took a situation that could have been lost, due to pre judgement or fear, and used it to make a connection with a brother on this earth.
