Looking someone in the eye
Teddie Potter has sent me the following story:
A few years ago Teddie heard Archbishop Desmond Tutu speak at the University of Minnesota. He described being a small boy growing up under apartheid in South Africa. His mother was the household manager for a wealthy family and whenever the family hosted a guest, the entire staff were told to dress in their finest uniforms and formally line the front walk into the home. However it was always the case that visiting whites simply walked right past the staff not making any eye contact and acting as if these employees did not exist.
On one occasion, however, the family hosted a well known priest. He appeared in his long black cassock and broad brimmed hat. Little Desmond stood next to his mother and observed when the priest reached his mother he looked her in the eye, took off his hat and saluted her. That simple act of human dignity sowed a seed in the heart and mind of young Desmond Tutu. He now believed it possible for things to change. And the rest is history
This story rocked Teddie’s world for while we may wonder how we can be agents of change in a desperate world, Teddie is certain a big change is possible through even the smallest acts of love and respect. “We are all capable of sowing these seeds.”
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By Lynn Wilson, July 28, 2009 @ 8:51 pm
Beautiful and profound.