Morning Thanks--a human thing

   

What she told us last night, among other things, was that she was much despised among some members of her community. What they wouldn't really forget, she said, was that she wasn't born among them, had spent her first several years a long ways away, and had a spirit that was, they claimed, well, different than what they were. What she told us was that some in her community don't like her or were afraid of her, even though she'd come to love their customs, their traditions, their means of making meaning out of life itself--traditions which are, by the way, hers too.

What she told us was that others thought that she acted too much like people from the world, people from outside the community, people among whom they didn't feel comfortable. What she told us was that some, at least, didn't trust her because, by their perceptions, she'd had no faith in the way things had always gone; yet today, she told us, they accuse her of abandoning her identity because she isn't doing things the old way, the traditional way.

She told us much more too--much, much more--and she never acted like--nor played--the victim. Not once did she attempt to secure our sympathy or pity. She just told us what she thought life is like right now, even for her. She told us the truth.

Our guest last night in class is Native American, just as Native as her community.

After that night's wonderful presentation, it was a joy to recognize that the phenomenon she described--the skeptical sneer of traditionalists, the distrust of those who don't want to change--isn't just a Native thing. It's a human thing. All  too often it happens in my community too: distrust and antagonism created by the sometimes-rough-and-tumble push-and-pull of tradition vs. change.

I'm thankful, really thankful, for the many colors we humans come in because we're blessed by our glorious diversity. But I'm even more thankful to have seen once more that, somewhere beneath those coats of many colors, we're all powered, for better and for worse, by a human heart that operates much the same.