Then it hit me..

A few years back, I was part of a spring trip to Mumbai, India. It was one of the most life changing events I have been able to participate in so far. The time spent with the friends I was with, and our host family, was so valuable. The story I am about to share is brief, but it taught me so much about how part of privilege, in essence, is being able to ignore something because you don't have to deal with it.

Here is the story. One day, it was planned that we would go to an eastern barbecue restaurant that was further into Mumbai. We had to spend almost an hour on a train and a near 20 minute further walk. It was worth it of course! After getting off the train, we began to walk towards the place. There was lots of people around there was always something to see. Then, I saw something that changed my life forever... I saw a women and her baby. The way this women and baby were positioned was as such that either the women seemed to want someone to take care of the baby, or maybe she was asking for help in some way. I still to this day am not quite sure what was going on. I briefly thought I should slow down and try to see if I could understand what was happening. With everything going on, I didn't want to get separated from my friends, so I kept going. As I walked, I asked myself a question. "What could have happened if I stopped to try to understand the situation? " We then were getting close to the restaurant, and I felt this unease about what I had just seen. I didn't even know what was going on, I could only guess. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. All I knew, was I was able to go have a nice lunch and not physically have to do something about what I had seen. We got to the place and I sat down feeling a sense of regret that I didn't at least slow down and observe. We enjoyed some soft drinks, and ordered our food. As we ate, conversation surfaced that others had too noticed what I did. There was a brief mention that if we saw the women when we walked back to the train station, we should try to see what was going on. We did look as we set out on our walk back to the station, but to no avail. We never saw the women and her baby again. On the train ride back, I was still thinking about it. I had a filling lunch, and everything I needed at that moment. Whatever was the situation for that women and baby in essence didn't affect what was physically happening to me. The point is, I was able to go on with my life. I could ignore what was happening around me due to the resources and situation I had. Now, I am not saying one has to feel guilty about being in a fair off position. I had recognized how I easily it could be for me to ignore what was happening to those around me. The thing I learned most from this instance, was to live with my eyes wide open. The lesson I came away from that day with, was that empathy is active and leads one to participate in the wider community rather than to just keep walking right on by.

Keep your eyes open,

NLC