If we set aside our societal labels, and instead focus on authentically connecting as human beings, that‘s when we make the kind of the magic that can change the world.
Recently I was in Uganda with an NGO, visiting moms and children who receive life-changing vitamins supplements from them. The chance to spend a full week away from the normality of my day to day world, and just take the time immerse myself in meeting, learning from, and understanding the lives, hopes and fears of women, men and children living a life so different from my own, was a gift that I cannot easily describe with words.
During one of the visits, while we were sitting perched under a beautiful big tree talking with a mom and her husband, Charles (one of our fellow travelers), decided to catch the attention of the family‘s 13 year old son. He grabbed a few pieces of A4 paper out of his backpack, sat down outside against the wall of the family home and started to show the boy how to build paper planes. Without exchanging any words, they worked together, the boy carefully observing and copying every move Charles made in the construction of the paper planes. Then they ventured into the yard and flew them to and from each other for a good 30mins while we continued our chat with the family. There they played whole-heartedly under the hot sun, two complete and utter strangers with seemingly nothing in common. Charles, a twenty-something Taiwanese-Canadian from Vancouver, and a 13 year old boy from a settlement in northern Uganda. They shared no common ground in language, culture, race, age, geography, nationality, socio-economic status or life experience. Yet none of that mattered. Instead they communicated purely and only as human beings, sharing a very deep-rooted and real human connection, which transcends any barrier we choose to build as people. What I was watching in front of me was immense, and affirmed my strongly held belief that if we set aside our societal labels, and instead focus on authentically connecting as human beings, that‘s when we make the kind of the magic that can change the world. For Charles and that young boy, their time spent together will be etched in both of their memories forever, and gave them both something only true connection can give: a sense meaning and belonging.
Two weeks later I was giving a keynote speech at Thought for Food, a community that brings students and change makers together from all over the world to debate and share how we are going to feed our 9+ billion population sustainably in 2050 and beyond. Although I was there to talk about the incredible power of nutrition (and well-nourished populations) to drive social development more strongly than almost any other factor, I took the time to recount the story of the paper planes in Uganda. I told the story to remind the audience that no matter how many wonderful ideas we have, if we don‘t seek to authentically connect as humans, we will fail in our efforts. While telling the story I unfolded a paper plane on stage and threw it into the audience. It landed in the lap of a young Ugandan man called Morris, who it turned out is from a town just 2hrs drive from where we visited that 13 year old boy and his family just two weeks before. After my speech we had a chat and immediately lept into a deep and authentic conversation about his research, my work, nutrition, agriculture and the future of Africa. A 37 year old Irish/South African living in Switzerland, and a Ugandan student in his early 20s, completely connected and engaged in real and meaningful conversation.
Such real and undeniably human connections move something in me that is hard to describe. Every time I experience such connection with someone, i feel like a small highway opens up between us, and that person remains forever a light bulb in my life. With more and more inter-connected light bulbs around the world and across barriers, we can start to benefit from the one thing we all share in common: being human. First and foremost human beings, with the one thing in common that matters: our ability to leverage that real connection. I truly believe that human connection gives us the ability to really and truly connect, enabling us to collaborate together, thereby contributing to something bigger than ourselves, and ultimately creating change that can move mountains. When I see or feel a human connection I am moved to look for it more, to put my authentic self vulnerably and fully forward even when its scary. Because it is worth it every single time.
During one of the visits, while we were sitting perched under a beautiful big tree talking with a mom and her husband, Charles (one of our fellow travelers), decided to catch the attention of the family‘s 13 year old son. He grabbed a few pieces of A4 paper out of his backpack, sat down outside against the wall of the family home and started to show the boy how to build paper planes. Without exchanging any words, they worked together, the boy carefully observing and copying every move Charles made in the construction of the paper planes. Then they ventured into the yard and flew them to and from each other for a good 30mins while we continued our chat with the family. There they played whole-heartedly under the hot sun, two complete and utter strangers with seemingly nothing in common. Charles, a twenty-something Taiwanese-Canadian from Vancouver, and a 13 year old boy from a settlement in northern Uganda. They shared no common ground in language, culture, race, age, geography, nationality, socio-economic status or life experience. Yet none of that mattered. Instead they communicated purely and only as human beings, sharing a very deep-rooted and real human connection, which transcends any barrier we choose to build as people. What I was watching in front of me was immense, and affirmed my strongly held belief that if we set aside our societal labels, and instead focus on authentically connecting as human beings, that‘s when we make the kind of the magic that can change the world. For Charles and that young boy, their time spent together will be etched in both of their memories forever, and gave them both something only true connection can give: a sense meaning and belonging.
Two weeks later I was giving a keynote speech at Thought for Food, a community that brings students and change makers together from all over the world to debate and share how we are going to feed our 9+ billion population sustainably in 2050 and beyond. Although I was there to talk about the incredible power of nutrition (and well-nourished populations) to drive social development more strongly than almost any other factor, I took the time to recount the story of the paper planes in Uganda. I told the story to remind the audience that no matter how many wonderful ideas we have, if we don‘t seek to authentically connect as humans, we will fail in our efforts. While telling the story I unfolded a paper plane on stage and threw it into the audience. It landed in the lap of a young Ugandan man called Morris, who it turned out is from a town just 2hrs drive from where we visited that 13 year old boy and his family just two weeks before. After my speech we had a chat and immediately lept into a deep and authentic conversation about his research, my work, nutrition, agriculture and the future of Africa. A 37 year old Irish/South African living in Switzerland, and a Ugandan student in his early 20s, completely connected and engaged in real and meaningful conversation.
Such real and undeniably human connections move something in me that is hard to describe. Every time I experience such connection with someone, i feel like a small highway opens up between us, and that person remains forever a light bulb in my life. With more and more inter-connected light bulbs around the world and across barriers, we can start to benefit from the one thing we all share in common: being human. First and foremost human beings, with the one thing in common that matters: our ability to leverage that real connection. I truly believe that human connection gives us the ability to really and truly connect, enabling us to collaborate together, thereby contributing to something bigger than ourselves, and ultimately creating change that can move mountains. When I see or feel a human connection I am moved to look for it more, to put my authentic self vulnerably and fully forward even when its scary. Because it is worth it every single time.
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