A Giant Lesson in Humanity
Hi There,
Last week’s invitation to compassionately consider different perspectives and opinions brought me back to 1989— one month before the Berlin Wall fell and 18 months before a civil war emerged in Yugoslavia.
It was October, and I was the passenger of my dear friend, Ivan, driving through Yugoslavia. Ivan, the son of an inter-ethnic couple, had lived with my family in the US as an exchange student a few years prior, when he shared with me how politically toxic and deeply divided his home country had historically been.
After a few days enjoying Belgrade and visiting Ivan’s family, we hit the road to Dubrovnik. At one point, Ivan misjudged the speed of a country tractor, rear ending it! The tractor survived, but the front end of Ivan’s Citroen was mangled. Stranded in the countryside, what ensued didn’t come across as special in the moment, but it did in retrospect.
The farmer brought us to his home, where his wife prepared for us a small meal while he and Ivan worked out car repair logistics. Ivan explained who I was, which segued into a swirl of foreign words. I didn’t understand the conversation, but the connections with Ivan and the kindness in the room were crystal clear. We ended up spending the afternoon and evening with this lovely small-town couple, who then brought us to the bus station for the 5+-hour ride back to Belgrade.
I never did get to visit the Pearl of the Adriatic, but my impromptu adventure became a life lesson. It could have unfolded quite differently due to assumptions and historical anger, but it didn’t. Today, I look back upon our encounter with that couple and ask myself how I can apply and share the lesson to yield curiosity, kindness and civility— seeing people not as “us” and “them” but as American humans during a challenging time in our own history.
I welcome your ideas and considerations.
Cheers!
-Deborah
Deborah Goldstein
DRIVEN Professionals / Forbes / Linkedin
info@drivenpros.com | LinkedIn
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