Fighting… How Much Do You Really Know?
A young boy I know wanted to fight another boy, a few years older than himself, earlier this week. I know both of these young men pretty well, but what I did not know was how little either of these two boys knew about each other. This is a crazy thought to me, especially considering how much “fighting” there is in the world today, but when we “pick a fight”, whatever that fight might be – another boy on the playground, an annoying neighbor, a spouse, a friend, or bigger fights like Christianity vs. Islam, abortion vs. pro-life, conservative vs. liberal, Democrats vs. Republicans, white vs. black, gangs, terrorism, wars, and the list goes on… how much do we ACTUALLY know about our “enemy?”
The younger boy had lost his older brother during the week because he had moved back to New York City to live with his dad. He loves his older brother and he NEEDS his older brother… and his older brother is gone. There are so many other issues as well but none of this was known. Before any “fighting” could take place, the younger boy started to cry… and he could not stop… he was filled with rage… anger… hurt.. desperation… loss… confusion… memories… so much negative with nowhere to go. This young man just wanted to hit… something, anything. To make someone or something feel just a fraction of the hurt he was experiencing. Once the other boy understood just a tiny bit of the pain this young man was experiencing, he tried to give him a hug. That was not successful, but they did manage a fist bump… and an “I’m sorry.”
Just knowing and understanding a TINY, FRACTIONAL BIT of the other’s story changed EVERYTHING about this situation. I can’t help but wonder how much I don’t know about the fights I pick. And you?