Today, I stopped in a convenience store for a cup of coffee and a man began talking to me. It took a moment for me to realize he was saying that terrible things were happening today in his country.  

I had, of course, heard the news about the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, and was startled by the poignant realization that this man was so distraught he had turned to me, a stranger, for comfort. He went on to say that his family lives only a few blocks from where some of the attacks were taking place but, thankfully, they were safe.   

Tragedy is no respecter of persons. Race, religion, economic status, education, nothing will exempt anyone from disaster. Yet, humankind goes out of its way to make distinctions that equate differences in culture to differences in humanity.

Today, I connected with a man I might never have connected with otherwise. Thanksgiving of 2008, this stranger in a strange land needed to know that those around him cared about his homeland, his people. I was touched by his simple words, his kind manner, his willingness to reach out to someone who, at face value, might seem very different than himself.

I was acquainted with a 9/11 victim. I will not miss this man, I barely knew him. Yet, I will never be the same knowing he went to the towers that day for a job interview. His wife and two children will never be the same.  The man I met today will never be the same knowing his family was a stone’s throw from tragedy. I will never be the same after our simple encounter.

Differences we are so certain cannot exist within ourselves can and do exist. I’m saddened that tragedy is what all too often forces us to cross these barriers and understand that we are all engaged in the human experience.  

I breathed a genuine sigh of relief upon learning the man’s family was safe. Here, before me, stood another human being who might have, this very day, lost family members. How would I have handled that? When I left, I touched his arm—something I NEVER do with strange men—and told him to take care. I meant it.  

Despite the barriers we create, we humans are capable of being touched by our fellow man’s troubles—and joys—from so far away, and in places far outside our personal experience.  I’m ashamed to say, I sometimes forget the personal thread that connects us. Maybe, after today, I’ll forget less often.

Viva la’ differance!