Make New Friends

After sitting at my computer for about an hour doing work, I decided that I'd had enough. I got up, took a shower, got dressed, and decided to go out. My objectives: make a cash withdrawal from the bank, buy orange juice and Ralph's cereal from Trader Joe's, and have lunch at the local Indian restaurant.

Well, I accomplished my goals. What is exciting about all this is what I did not plan - to have a conversation with the Roman Catholic Indian waiter at the restaurant and make a new friend. Khegi (sp?) asked me about the book I was reading while I ate. It's The Story of B by Daniel Quinn. The restaurant wasn't busy, so I guess Khegi had time on his hands. He asked me what the book was about.

My summary was that it is the sequal to a book entitled Ishmael that basically reveals humanity's foil 10,000 years ago at the time of the Agricultural Revolution. A new culture arose and became dominant - takers, our culture which wages war against the rest of creation for the purpose of food production. Leavers are those who continue to live in the way humanity has lived for 3 million years, since we first evolved, without waging war on the rest of creation.

Well, Khegi was interested in the book and pessimistic about humanity's ability to really learn to change our pattern of life.

"Do you work?" Khegi asked.

"No," I replied.

"Well do you study?" he followed, to which I again answered no. Khegi looked puzzled and I explained that I worked part-time from home.

"Are you married?"

"Yes."

"Do you have children?"

"Yes, a daughter."

"So how come you don't work?" Khegi came back to it. I explained that I wanted to have more time with my daughter at home, that my mother lives 30 miles south, and we don't have other family members nearby, so I need to be available to my daughter. Khegi then asked about friends.

"Friends? In Delaware?", I asked hestitantly. "No, I don't really have many of those either." And then I remembered and said, "Well, there is my religious community. I'm a Baha'i."

Khegi hadn't heard of the Baha'i faith before, so I explained that Baha'is believe that there is one God, and that the world's major religious teachers all revealed messages from God. I told him that Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah came to bring a new message to humanity to bring us all together.

"So you believe that all people are one?" Khegi asked. "Yes, I do."

"That's good. Most people think Muslim, Christian are all different and separate. But there is only one God, " Khegi continued. I agreed with him.

From here, Khegi extended his hand, told me his name, and said that he was my friend. So, I've promised to go back to the restaurant to talk with Khegi again and to bring him some information about the Baha'i Temple in India.

At various social events, I meet new people and sometimes have interesting conversations with them. This happens on a regular basis. But never, never has one of these minglings turned into an offer of friendship. I am excited to have met Khegi. A friendship formed because of a common belief - there is only one God and He loves us all. The beauty of humanity doesn't get any better than this.