When I was in Africa, a young white child asked Charles, an African man, if he could touch his skin and his hair because it "looked so different" than his. The adults held their collective breath to see how the man would respond;  he said, 'of course' and knelt down beside the child so that the child could touch his hair and skin.

The child did and before the man stood, he looked at the child and SMILED.

The child said, "Look, his teeth are just like mine!"

Cool.

The ONLY reason the child knew their teeth were the same is because that man with the different skin and the different hair SMILED at him.

That’s all.  He smiled.

In that smile, they found common ground.

I cannot count how many people, especially children, have blessed me with a smile...wherever I have been around this world.  Along with laughter and tears, it really is something we can all share.

Just. A. Smile.

Tomorrow, I am going to smile at every person I pass and I am going to pay attention to the ‘common ground’ that exists with those who return my smile.

Whatever their skin or hair color, I am going to say to myself (it would be weird to say it out loud), “Look teeth just like mine!”

Cool.

PS
It would be really cool if you joined me.  I will look for your teeth if you look for mine.

                   Uvira, Zaire....these teeth just like mine were everywhere I went...cool!