Recently I viewed a short film entitled: “40 Strangers, 50 Questions.” I was very moved by the contents. First, forty people came together and were asked to stand in a certain area based on the color of their skin. Then they were asked a series of questions, to determine what other qualities and experiences they might have in common. Then they were asked to come to the front of the room to have a photograph taken with their new group. Some of the questions were playful and light-hearted, others were personal. The questions included:
As a child were you over-protected?
Do you ever feel lonely?
Have you ever been teased because of your appearance or race?
Have you had sex this week?
Always there were some people who went forward and realized they were part of a different group, one that was based on their experiences, not on the color of their skin.
The one question that was asked that everyone went to the front of the room was:
“Do you feel that we would be stronger united than divided?”
What do you think? It isn’t much fun to be put in a box for any reason, but especially for something that we have no choice over… the color of our skin. I think this is an amazing exercise in oneness. We have so much in common in our shared human experiences. And we have even more in common when we remember that we are all made of the same stuff by the same creative process.
Have you put yourself in a box? Is it time to get out?
Be willing to see through the eyes of love and possibility and a new paradigm will appear.
