There is an experience I have had lately in which I enter into a conversation with people. And I am immediately clear, that I have no information on any side of the story. I don´t know the players. I don´t know the context. I struggle to understand the accent. I don´t know what happened. I don´t know the process. I don´t know what it means. I have very little point of reference. It is hard for me to draw on my own personal experiences in those moments. It can be hard to express myself in moments.

But what I do have, however, is a connection to the people I am talking to.

It has amazed me to learn that connection outweighs many things. Genuine interest, caring, humor, warmth, and energy matter more than getting every word. They matter more than how physically different I look. They matter more than fluency, than perfect comprehension.

I understand that all experience is simply our perception of our experience. But this is my perception of what is happening, and therefore my experience.