The world feels like a scary place right now. The United States, our country, feels like a scary place right now.

With all of the events that have taken place over the past year…and more specifically, over the past few weeks, I haven’t been able to find the words to adequately express coherent thoughts. At the same time, it doesn’t feel right to NOT say something. To not address the fact that our world is changing rapidly in front of our eyes, and not always for the better.

Anger. Sadness. Loss. Prejudice. Ignorance. Pride.

But still, even in these sad, angry and confusing times, there is hope. 

Over the weekend, I experienced something profound that reminded me that truly, we are all the same. We are all one.

Many of you won’t be surprised to learn that this experience took place in a yoga class.

After a beautiful practice and peaceful savasana at Golden Buddha Yoga in Ocean City, New Jersey (my yoga home for the summer), my teacher Cailin Callahan randomly paired us up with a perfect stranger and asked us to do something slightly uncomfortable.

“Sit facing your partner,” she instructed.

I moved toward my partner, a man I had never met before.

“No, get closer to your partner,” Cailin said. “Knee to knee.”

Nervous giggles filled the room. You want us to do what?!

We all inched a bit closer to one another. Now, our knees were touching.

“Hold your partner’s hands,” Cailin said.

Eeeeeeeks, okay. 

I reluctantly held my partner’s hands.

Cailin asked one set of each pairing to close their eyes. My partner closed his eyes.

She asked us to study our partner’s faces, completing taking them in. Looking at them. Really seeing them. Allowing them to be seen.

Then she said, “Bring to mind your very best day ever. A day that you were so filled with joy and happiness. Maybe it was your wedding day. Maybe it was the day you first met your child. Maybe it was just a day that you did all of your favorite things. Perhaps you even practiced yoga. Bring that day to mind. Feel it. Smell it. Taste it.”

She gave us a moment to call to mind that day.

Visions of lots of different perfect days filled my brain. Snapshots of moments with friends and family in some of my favorite places.

“Think about your partner,” she said. “They too, have also experienced the very best day ever. They too, have experienced that level of joy and happiness. Know this. Understand it.”

She paused.

“Now, I’d like you to bring to mind your very worst day ever. Perhaps a day you experienced tremendous grief, sadness, loss. Maybe it was a day you said goodbye to someone you love. Perhaps it was a day you separated from a partner or a family member. Maybe it was just a day where nothing seemed right. Bring that day to mind. Remember exactly how you felt in that moment.”

The day my grandmother passed away immediately popped into my head.

“Think about your partner. Know that they too, have also experienced the very worst day ever. They’ve known suffering. They’ve experienced sadness, grief and loss. They’ve been there, too.”

Cailin asked us to switch- I closed my eyes and my partner opened his. She went through the same exercise, asking us again to remember our happiest day and our very worst day.

She asked both pairings to close their eyes.

“We are all the same,” Cailin said. “We’ve all experienced happiness. We’ve all experienced sadness. We’ve all experienced joy. We’ve all experienced loss.”

“The next time you walk down the street and see a stranger, really SEE them. Remember that they’ve experienced tremendous happiness and they’ve also experiences tremendous sadness. Your backgrounds may be different, but at the end of the day, WE ARE ALL THE SAME. We are all human. See if you can feel compassion for everyone around you whether it’s the person you love the most in the world or a perfect stranger.”

Then, Cailin had each pairing open their eyes.

For the next minute, she asked us to look into one another’s eyes. To hold each other’s gaze. To see each other. To be seen.

During that minute, the room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. No one giggled nervously anymore. No one spoke.

I’m not going to lie; it wasn’t easy. That minute felt like it lasted a lifetime. But it was powerful.

Silence. Peace. Hope.

Compassion.

Our backgrounds may be different. Our upbringings may be different. The color of our skin may be different. Our genders may be different. Our sexual orientations may be different. Our income levels may be different. Our jobs may be different. Our preferences may be different. Our life experiences may be different. Seemingly, every single thing little thing about us may be different.

But at the end of the day, WE. ARE. ALL. THE. SAME.

We are all human. We all experience the same emotions. We all experience the same feelings.

So, at the end of the day, we really aren’t that different after all, huh?

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