Looking for reasons to connect

Looking for reasons to connect…

These are a few random observations I thought of penning or rather e-penning here about various idiosyncrasies of human behavior . When people are in a land that is not their own, there a few peculiarities that I’ve noticed – even in myself, that cross across geographical distances and find a way above cultural and religious differences.

• ·         You turn around and look when you hear someone speaking your language.
• ·         In the sea of differences you tend to sift through the crowd for a familiar or even friendly nod or smile.
• ·         Regardless of the different states we belong to in India, when we are abroad we are drawn towards anyone Indian. It’s like a breath of fresh air to know that the shopkeeper knows your language.
•  People at the airport, on the plane…someone whom you’ve never met and may never meet again strikes up a conversation with you, looking for something in common. It only takes a word to get a conversation going. If that word strikes a chord that’s similar…the experience is fulfilling.

My neighbor on the plane to Dubai was a teacher, and so am I. That was the ice-breaker.

At Dubai, a lady came and spoke to me because she has grandchildren whose age difference is like that of mine.

The Indian operator of a toy mini monorail gave us a free ride without asking.

The Orthodox Egyptian supplying jet skis at the beach spoke only Arabic, yet struck up a monosyllabic conversation when he  found out that we were Catholic.

In a place away from home, I feel, all are looking for some connection. Maybe they feel nearer to home and to their families when they connect to others.

In a world that highlights the differences, finding similarities may well be the answer to dissolve conflicts…….

And then when I see my kids playing for the first time in the sand, on a beach that is thousands of miles away from home, I am warmed by the thought that regardless of time and place, religion and race, kids everywhere play in the same beautiful way. We are all similar.

It’s a small world after all. Depends on how you look at it.