Mar 29, 2022
“Maybe you can hear artillery and multiple rocket launchers?”
With these words, my conversation deep into the heart of darkness, began…
My podcast, ‘Spontaneous Moments of Conversation’ is ultimately about reconnecting with each other through our shared humanity. Through the lost art of spontaneous conversation I get to connect with strangers across the globe.
Within that conversation, our humanity flows. Magic happens. Two human beings drop their masks (the psychological kind), and connect.
Purely. Simply. Profoundly.
When the threads of this shared humanity are broken by war, two catastrophes engulf us. First, we lose hope in what it means to be human. Surely people cannot behave so barbarically? Secondly we lose hope in our right to live from a place of our own humanity. How can I embrace my humanity, when others are trampling on my right to exist?
In the midst of such catastrophe we are forced to see each other & ourselves anew. We are forced to remember that it is in fact, that shared humanity that threads all of our lives together. And it is during times of crisis that our humanity needs reminding of its importance.
“Maybe you can hear artillery and multiple rocket launchers at distance and you can smell something burning…”
My conversation with Gela, a language teacher in Kyiv, reminded me of the importance of this shared humanity. As I spoke from the safety of my Los Angeles home, bombs were literally dropping in his city. In his neighborhood.
Yet, the one thing that remained constant was our human connection. His humanity shone through the zoom call. His bravery extraordinary. His love. Pure.
Surely, it doesn’t need a war to be reminded that we are all human.
And that we share so much…
I hope you are as moved as I was, with my conversation with a man, a city, a country, reeling from the very real bombs falling on their heads as we speak.