(I was fascinated by the concept of the Human Library. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia about them: The Human Library is an international organization and movement that first started in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2000. It aims to address people’s prejudices by helping them to talk to those they would not normally meet. The organisation uses a library analogy of lending people rather than books.)*
I lived in my self-made bubble
Stretching it just enough to avoid trouble
I met people like-minded, with similar lives
In my chosen community, I definitely did thrive
When I felt the need to expand my horizons
I would travel (as a tourist) to exotic destinations
Or read a book, or watch a film about a different land
Without making the slightest effort to understand
How others led their lives, because even when I tried
To learn about others, quite frankly, deep inside
I had no intention to connect with them at all-
I had chosen to surround myself with a self-made wall
Of superiority, privilege, exclusivity, arrogance
Completely oblivious of my obvious ignorance
I had never taken the time to listen to any voice
That did not mirror my own, I realize now that was my choice..
**
The turning point came one day, out of the blue
I stumbled upon the Human Library, a concept new
To me- living people were the books here
“Reading” to an audience, as volunteers
From stigmatized groups- sharing stories
From their lives, their remarkable histories
On hearing my first story I was fascinated
All my preconceived ideas were decimated
I found myself immersed in this person’s narrative
For once I felt empathetic, it was as if I could live
The narrator’s life vicariously while hearing her talk
It was the first time I had actually tried to walk
In another person’s shoes- I was transformed
My prior view of the world had been myopic and deformed
**
I have continued to read human books since then
But that experience provided me more enlightenment-
Now I make an effort to understand the world around me
To un-judge people, get to the bottom of their story
Many uncomfortable truths the process has revealed
But by learning empathy, my soul I have healed…
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Human_Library
Passion...unbridled 