Water has this levelling quality.  The sun shines on every wave crease and the valleys dance. Wether circling for prayer at the end of a meeting, or at the end of an aerobic exercise or at the beginning of a meal, there is always a levelling of humanity, a pouring out of ego into the pool of  our common grace.  We wandered into an upper room in Cozumel and another one in Playa del Carmen and found the table set for meeting.  Now ex-pats sharing back home stories may not make for good local recovery, but when the woman took 6 cupcakes for six months in recovery all my views of what is right and wrong were levelled by the waves of rejoicing that carried her to freedom.

Part of the difficulty of visiting another culture is the stereo-types that rest in our brain and bodies.   The cut out faces were focused on traditional gender roles and a small “switcheroo” as Hanah Pesut labels them, reverses every stereotype.  Try walk in someone else’s shoes for a day, or walk without shoes.  There is no normal other than our condition. There is no male or female. There is no empathy other than sitting in silent acceptance.

Over years I have been blessed with a partner that on most occasions willingly dances to that twisted drummer that drives my curiosity.   The great thing about that is we are never in sync and never surprised! Yet always amazed by the balance that comes from our differences.  It really is like the water. Levelling us out even when it pours;, sometimes tears, sometimes monsoons, and in the springtime even gentle showers.   When the sun shows up there are rainbows. There are days when this or that don’t matter.