Good Morning Bermuda [+ New Scrapbook Entries]
I spent a few days in Bermuda recently and, as usual, I was impressed by the country. It's one of the few places I visit where my good mornings are reciprocated by everyone. Strangers on the street, even those who are obviously in a hurry to complete some task or arrive at some appointment, greet others with a smile. People in shops respond in friendly fashion to my greetings. Everyone seems eager to help, to make others feel better.
It was too hot for me to pursue my usual hobbies so I spent a lot of time sitting on a bench near the hotel lobby talking to people who happened by. I talked to old and young, hotel staff and guests and cab drivers. Cab drivers are always good sources of information on what is going on, what sights to look for, what people are thinking about. They talk to everyone and, especially in Bermuda, know a lot of people. I've learned things about the history of Bermuda, the residents and visitors from listening to cab drivers. I talk to them about their lives, their travels, their families. I always try to give the same message I give here, be nice to others, but I normally don't think it's necessary in Bermuda. People in Bermuda seem to know that being nice to others helps everyone.
One driver alluded to some problems which surprised me. He indicated that there is some racial and class dissonance in Bermuda. We talked about the frictions that inevitably arise in any society and how kindness and respect can help eliminate them, about good will and its role in achieving peaceful relations, about the heat and the stress that creates. He told me of his own multi-racial background and his family. We didn't disagree about anything but my thoughts about babies received the most enthusiastic agreement.
We asked ourselves how differences become more important than similarities in relationships. We talked about how strange it is that we can't maintain the openness and friendly feelings that children are born with. We talked about how easy it was for us to get along, even though we were of different ages, races and cultures.
I was reminded once again that we need to resist learning the wrong lessons in life. Lessons that divide us from one another, lessons that emphasize differences, whether differences in race, age, wealth or culture have to be avoided or unlearned. Our similarities far outweigh any differences. Simple kindness and respect are easy to give, are cost-free and and help everyone.
I guess we all need to work a little harder to be sure that the young learn the lessons of kindness and respect, of tolerance, of making things better for everyone.
[I added 3 new scrapbook entries: A picture from my recent birthday party and, from my vacation in the Dominican Republic, a picture of a street in an older area of the resort and a picture of the famed "teeth of the dog" hole, which gave its name to the golf course. It seems like yesterday that the young lady on my right in the birthday picture was "ready for golf".]
8-18-03
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