250802 What I learned in my studies this morning 5

Today's Meditation:

The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh (ed. by Melvin McLeod), Labels

Really getting the humanity of others is so dammed hard.

Yes, I can 'respect everyone's humanity' in surface ways: being polite, avoiding bumping into them on the street, bearing a genial manner in interactions (Smile and wave, boys. Smile and wave.), etc.

This is all easy stuff — important stuff, necessary stuff, stuff we shouldn’t skip — but easy stuff nonetheless.

Harder is to have a moment with a stranger where I truly acknowledge our shared roots and current circumstances.

Maybe it's the person in the car who cuts me off. Is this a woman hurrying to the school for some emergency? I've done that. Is this an inexperienced teen who doesn't know better? I was once him.

How much do I have in common with this person? Where do I find communion? What narrative can I tell myself that bonds us instead of separates us?

How can I see us as brothers and sisters and bring us closer?