Flat Tire
On Friday, I was running errands when I received a low tire pressure alert on the car. I pressed the cancel button and figured it was just due to the cold weather. The car alerted again, but this time for a specific tire. So, I drove over to my favorite oil change location to have it checked. Turns out I had a nail in it - what a way to derail my errands for the day! I nervously made my way over to the tire shop, hoping the air would keep for the short drive. I thankfully made it with no issues and was sitting in the waiting room when I started chatting with the other man sitting there.
The conversation took a lot of turns. I told him he looked great for 85 years old, and he said it was due to him still working. We talked about where I was from, which led the conversation to how crowded the Bay Area is these days. That prompted him to talk about immigration and his identity being on the “right” side. Immediately my mind went to fact that the identification of right vs left comes along with so many agendas, storylines, and emotions. Thankfully, I have been listening to many conversations lately by Jamie Winship, which has gotten me out of that mindset. He teaches how choosing sides or teams keeps us disconnected from one another, ourselves, and God.
We continued talking, and I got more information on how this man had actually been a deacon, raised many children, and fostered many others. His heart was centered in helping others, raising confident children, and making a difference in the world. Those are the conversations I want to have — centered on how we can help one another and be connected. When we choose sides, we align ourselves to narratives the world is creating for us, and I don’t want to be defined by society’s standards. Instead, I want to stay true to my own beliefs, make my own narratives, and foster meaningful conversations based on that.
There is so much room for love and connection with each other when we can stay in a place of true curiosity and have a willingness to understand one another. Sometimes that understanding won’t happen. We don’t have to agree on everything, and we won’t. Some people and relationships aren’t for us, and that’s also okay. But the message by Jamie Winship has been so powerful for me — to stay open to each other in order to make meaningful connections and to stay aligned to God’s love for ourselves and others. I want to focus on what connects us and not on those (usually) few things that disconnect us and remember that we do not need to exert our will over anyone else, because we don’t want that done to us.
