On Sunday Lucas and Dom had an interesting conversation on black holes. The posited that it was a possibility if they went through a black hole they could switch identities. This lead to a hilarious conversation about switching roles with Lucas being the grandfather and being married to me and Hillary being Dom’s mother and on and on.
But, after everyone went home it got me thinking about how would I behave if I thought I would come back to this world as another person. Maybe a person of a different race and maybe a person without the economic privilege that I have. Would I take the Biblical injunction to “Love my neighbor as myself” a little more to heart?
What if I became you
for just a day?
When I saw through
different eyes,
would I finally
understand?
Wishing you a week filled with good revelations,
On Tuesday’s I try to write a slice of my life and post it at Two Writing Teacher’s. If you get a minute check it out. You won’t be disappointed by the stories.
What a great idea! If only this were possible: it should be mandatory for politicians to swap with real people!
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If we all can do that, this will be a better world. Thanks for your inspirational words.
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Bernadette, I love madcap conversations like this that veer off on a tangent and end up somewhere even more philosophical than imagined. If we all kept this possibility in mind the world might be a very different place.
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You got me thinking early this morning! I often think it is a good idea to look through a different lens of someone else’s life. I’ll skip the journey through the black hole though!
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Hmm! This is quite deep and how I wish it was possible. A thought that one should not keep far from the mind.
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I wonder all the time about coming back as someone entirely different than who I am!! What an awesome conversation between Grandfather and Grandson.
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Such a timely post, and what a gifted connection you made with that conversation. It reminds me of an experiment we did in my high school psychology class. Half of us were blindfolded, and the class took a field trip to a nearby restaurant. We had to figure out where we were going, and then try to eat breakfast, without our sight–an empathy lesson on blindness. The Compassion Experience is nearest to your query: http://www.compassion.com/change/default.htm?referer=134089
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Wow. I love your insight. Maybe we all tried to image what another person’s life is like we could move toward being more kind to each other. Great post. Thanks for sharing with all of us.
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What a whimsical way to think deeply about life and how we treat others. My daughter is convinced she is on her 9th life (she says there are 12). If we do this kind of thing all the more reason to love thy neighbor. They could be you!
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How different the world would be if we all saw things through another’s eyes. Thanks for making me think, Bernadette,
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Kids lead us to the most amazing conversations, don’t they? Love your philosophical take, too.
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If only we could trade to see what other’s see. This is a wonderful idea, and I love that you included your grandson in the imagining. I think I’ll ask the grand-girls what they might think about trading!
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It is that saying of walking a mile in that person’s shoes!! We may not understand another’s way of thinking, reasoning, etc…but we also can’t propose to know all of their histories and traumas in life.
Great musings!!!
jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
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Thought provoking for sure and wow what if….
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I have had the exact same thoughts.
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So true!! I can see the problems on both sides. We all need to calm down and try to think like the other person before we act.
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A delightful story and such profound questions to consider, Bernadette.
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Good post, Bernadette. We would think differently that’s for sure. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Beautiful!! Excellent post!!
tweeting!!
Kind Regards – K
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Thanks for taking the time to read and tweet the post.
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I can’t help thinking what an interesting writing assignment this would make for students (jr. high-high school). Perhaps they could draw identities on strips of paper from a paper bag. The “new” identities would have to be someone not in the class, of course!
Your post is simple, but profound.
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I think that would be a fantastic assignment. Thanks for reading.
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