When we keep an open mind about others, we remain open to what they have to teach us. If we are humble, we welcome what we can learn from others.
Today I was reminded of these truths upon looking back on last weekend. As I mentioned in the blog entry I wrote yesterday, there was a festival this past weekend here in Redwood City. Men and women and children dressed in traditional garb were dancing in the town square.
This morning, my fellow Catholic Worker Susan showed me a photo of our friend, who here I'll call "Bill," who was in a dance performance in the festival. In the picture, Bill is exquisitely dressed in a certain type of ethnic clothing, elegantly dancing with a woman on the town square, for people to admire. Bill is also homeless. Early this morning I saw him sleeping outside.
When I saw the photo, I remarked something like, "You see, that's a good example of how people can have a certain idea of what homeless people are like, and they're not like that. People's ideas about homeless people can be so inaccurate."
Susan added that while Bill has been homeless, he has had a job for two years. He is nice, kind and polite. He was a member of a monastic community for years.
Upon Susan noting some of these points about Bill, our fellow Catholic Worker Larry said that Bill breaks stereotypes. Bill contradicts what people expect homeless persons to be.
We've got our own ideas about people. People have so much more to give us than we expect. If we respect others enough to learn who they are, we can receive much from them. If we love them enough to get to know them, we will be educated about those individuals we do not know.
If we have the humility to realize that we do not know people, we will learn about them. We must be humble to welcome others into our hearts. We must be humble in order to love our neighbor* as Jesus instructs us.
If we are humble, we will open our minds and hearts towards others. If we let ourselves be humbled, we can receive what others can give us. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, we can receive love.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
Today I was reminded of these truths upon looking back on last weekend. As I mentioned in the blog entry I wrote yesterday, there was a festival this past weekend here in Redwood City. Men and women and children dressed in traditional garb were dancing in the town square.
This morning, my fellow Catholic Worker Susan showed me a photo of our friend, who here I'll call "Bill," who was in a dance performance in the festival. In the picture, Bill is exquisitely dressed in a certain type of ethnic clothing, elegantly dancing with a woman on the town square, for people to admire. Bill is also homeless. Early this morning I saw him sleeping outside.
When I saw the photo, I remarked something like, "You see, that's a good example of how people can have a certain idea of what homeless people are like, and they're not like that. People's ideas about homeless people can be so inaccurate."
Susan added that while Bill has been homeless, he has had a job for two years. He is nice, kind and polite. He was a member of a monastic community for years.
Upon Susan noting some of these points about Bill, our fellow Catholic Worker Larry said that Bill breaks stereotypes. Bill contradicts what people expect homeless persons to be.
We've got our own ideas about people. People have so much more to give us than we expect. If we respect others enough to learn who they are, we can receive much from them. If we love them enough to get to know them, we will be educated about those individuals we do not know.
If we have the humility to realize that we do not know people, we will learn about them. We must be humble to welcome others into our hearts. We must be humble in order to love our neighbor* as Jesus instructs us.
If we are humble, we will open our minds and hearts towards others. If we let ourselves be humbled, we can receive what others can give us. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, we can receive love.
* Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14
No comments:
Post a Comment