Seeing another perspective

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field – I’ll meet you there."

- Rumi

What if each of us had a challenge, and a journey. What if we found someone in a group that we tend to negatively stereotype, and we took that person out to lunch? And what if we, instead of focussing on what separates us or makes us different, focussed on the other person's humanity? What if we actually got to KNOW someone from the "other side"?

This idea has, of course, been flitting around in my head for years now, a challenge I extended to myself, and one that I acted on publically last year when I started this journey. If you have been following my blog at all, you probably realize by now that the journey is not about the religions I'm examining, but about the people within those religions, and about how they relate to God.

Today, I heard a TED talk on this subject and wanted to share with you guys her challenge:

1. GOAL: Get to know someone from a group that you have previously negatively stereotyped. Ask them to lunch or to coffee.
2. Set some ground rules like: Don’t persuade, defend, or interrupt; be curious; be conversational; be real; and LISTEN.
3. Ask them questions, then hear the answer. She suggested three questions:
• Share some of your life experiences with me.
• What issues deeply concern you?
• What have you always wanted to ask someone from the "other side"?

If you can, check out this short talk where she shares her experience... and I challenge you all to take the other side out to lunch and see their humanity.