Inside from the Inside

A couple weeks back I said that I was going to try to find ways to chat with my kids about racism. I haven’t had to ‘try’ at all. Somehow we’ve managed to have several out-of-the-blue conversations – none of which have I originated.

Like last Thursday. We had our first really nice summer day. It hit 81. This is considered hot in my neck of the woods. That evening my nine-year-old and I are snuggled on the sofa and out of left field he says:

“Mom, I feel really sorry for black people.”

“You what? Why?”

“Well, I don’t know how they do it on days like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“It must be awful. Me and Henry were out playing and we got really hot. And the sun goes to dark things, right? So they must get really, REALLY hot. How do they do it?”

And my mind splits in half. The mother in me is chuckling and thinking ‘How cute’. The blogger in me is thinking ‘Did he really just say that?’

What I love about what he said is his absolute innocence. His intention is compassion for others. Yet there may be some people who will find his comment offensive because they are unable to see his intention.

Since last Thursday I’ve been pondering other people’s intentions along with my own. My current thought is this: No matter how misguided a person may be, more often than not, their intention is good.

Take the yahoo that goes off on the check out girl because he thinks he can. What is he really trying to do? Is it to make himself feel better? His method is misguided and inappropriate but what is his underlying intention?

What if each of us could look past an offense of anothe person to see their true intention? Not what WE think their intention is – but really listen/watch to find out what their true intention is. My guess is that there would be a lot more understanding and compassion between people.

Try it. I’d like to know what happens.