JOYFUL PIECE #1

THE POWER OF PERSISTENCE

It was the end of a beautiful day in Florence, Italy, and we had just finished a delicious meal in the piazza. We cut across it and stopped at a vendor selling chess sets. In one set, some of the pieces were reproductions of famous works of art: Botticelli’s Birth of Venus for the queens, Michelangelo’s David for the kings, and Donatello’s David for the knights. I was fascinated by the set and purchased it.

When I arrived at my hotel, located a good half-mile or more away from the piazza, I noticed that one of the pieces was missing. I immediately started back to the piazza and had not walked far when one of the men who had sold me the set, missing piece in hand, bumped into me and apologetically handed it over.

Fast track to the days following the attack on the World Trade Center. I had lived across the river from the WTC towers not too long before. A co-worker was now missing, and we did not know his whereabouts. In the US we were all concerned about terrorists, jihadists, etc., and I remembered that “jihad” was part of the establishment’s name in the receipt for the chess set I had bought in Florence. Alarmed as we were by the photos of the hijackers and the use of the word jihadists, I promptly called my local FBI office. The agent who took my call kindly advised me on the meaning of the word jihad, “struggle or effort”, much more than “holy war”. It was used by Muslims struggling to establish themselves outside their native countries. My impending participation in the intrigues of the horrendous WTC event came to naught, thankfully. I still have that receipt, and most importantly, the memory of how getting caught in the fear-laden environment of the post 9/11 days had made me jump to conclusions.

The moral of the story: honesty and integrity know neither skin color nor ethnicity. We cannot afford snap decisions about the integrity of others. These were richly rewarding experiences for me. In the first instance I was impressed by the honesty of the vendor who took the chance of trying to find this tourist staying at an unknown location. In the second instance I was ashamed to have jumped to the wrong conclusion, connecting struggling immigrant merchants to terrorists.

We must persist in looking for the best in people. It will lead us to better understanding of the other and peace.