Pieces of the Puzzle
“He asked, ‘Who is my neighbor?’”
--A question posed to Jesus (Luke 10:29)
“To deny ourselves the knowledge even of a single person
is to lose the central piece of the jigsaw puzzle.”
--Leo Buscaglia (The Way of the Bull), p. 35
A number of years ago Mr. Buscaglia took a wonderful journey through Asia assimilating their traditions into his understanding about the mystery of life. In Asia the bull symbolically represents life. So, another way to title the book could be The Way of Life. Today we will journey with Leo. The rest of the week I will tell some stories about my travels in Rwanda where I learned some lessons about life.
Leo tells the story of two people, Mack and Pricha, from his experiences in Thailand to illustrate today’s point. Shortly after arriving at his “culturally acceptable, but quite unacceptable accommodations,” he met a man named Mack who was in Thailand on business. Mack was tied to his Western ways and didn’t really want to understand the Thai culture as much as to exploit the people of the culture. He learned a method of survival from Mack. The next week, Leo met Pricha who was a native Thai. During his week with Pricha, he grew to understand and appreciate the people, the customs and the cuisine of Thailand. He learned hospitality increases one’s awareness of things that are truly valuable.
Everyone helps us with the puzzle. Doing our job (like Mack) may only help us survive. Practicing the way of hospitality (like Pricha) may open new opportunities that we never dreamed of. May you have a good week, enriched by the people who grace your life.
A prayer: As I work on my puzzle, show me the people I need to encounter. Amen.
Ben Keckler
10.06.08
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