The great thing about proverbs – they need no explanation. That is the whole point of a proverb: providing truth or words of wisdom succinctly and self-evidently. 

Such as with this lovely African proverb.

A small house

I was cleaning out a box of old notes and accumulated junk a couple weeks ago, and came across a large, overstuffed envelope. In it was a collection of quotes, jokes, and photos from my undergraduate days.

On a post-it note near the bottom of the envelope was this proverb. Scrawled in now-faded red ink, it made me pause my cleaning efforts and think about its implications in understanding the world today.

I was reminded of being raised to believe there is always room for “one more”. One more seat at the table. One more desk in the classroom. One more passenger in the car. One more, one more, one more.

For there to be room, there needs to be an attitude of welcoming in place.

In welcoming, we learn our emotional spaces flex and contort to fit around people; an invisible hug in comfort, a transparent shield in protection.

In welcoming, we learn our emotional spaces are not governed by the width or height or depth or length of our available physical spaces. They bleed well beyond, willing the physical walls and floors embedded in our landscapes to seemingly shift and expand to accommodate “one more”.

Attitude of Kind

I still believe there is an overwhelming attitude of welcoming in the world. I believe it is our conditioned human instinct to welcome each other.

Today, however, we are witnesses to and victims of an assault through fear-mongering and fact-twisting for the purpose of politicking for favoured bias. Our welcoming nature is under attack.

Yet still many more continue to welcome, to adjust their welcoming attitude and embrace new methods and ways of expressing there is room for one more. A hundred more. A thousand more.

New methods and ways to use their emotional spaces to combat and thwart the imposition on physical spaces upon them and those they are welcoming.

For these ‘champions of welcoming’ understand a small house will hold a hundred friends. Plus one. Always plus one.

In these champions I will continue to place great faith the attitude of welcoming I learned so long ago will cycle back to its rightful positive place, and build a new ‘small house’ along the way.

Why? A heart cannot be contained by a wall, but a wall can be contained by a heart.

 

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Cheers!

TMc