Hello love,
A few years ago, I found myself wandering through an ancient marketplace in the center of Rabat, Morocco. I was there teaching entrepreneurship—guiding Moroccan students through the skills needed to take an idea and manifest it into the world as a business.
On Friday night, still jet-lagged and sleepless, I stepped onto the rooftop of the home I was staying in and looked out on a bustling marketplace below. At midnight, the medina (old Arab or non-European quarter of a North African town) was as busy if not busier then it had been mid-day: Packed full of people, walking shoulder-to-shoulder, eating, drinking tea, talking, debating, bantering, bartering.
I decided I wanted an adventure!
Walking down one of the many corridors webbed through the ancient city, I noticed an elderly man, with a worn cane in his hand.
As I walked closer, I noticed that he didn’t have any eyes.
A teenage boy walked past the old man and gently placed a few coins into his hand. How nice, I thought to myself, walking past.
But then, I had an awakening. There I was, carrying a purse full of money over my shoulder. I had the means to help this man, too.
I turned around and walked back to the old man, gently opening his palm, and placing a handful of coins inside of it. He said something to me in Arabic, the words and syllables lost to the language barrier.
“He says thank you, I see you,” said another gentleman, standing nearby.
I thought...He sees me?
Believe it or not, in that moment, face-to-face with a man with no eyes, I had never felt more seen in my life.
When was the last time you felt really seen?
When was the last time you really saw yourself?
When was the last time you truly, really saw another?
It felt as if this man saw my soul. Standing there holding my hand, looking me in my soul and connected to a part of me I had long since forgotten.
To this day I remember this man when I look at others and I quietly in my mind say no matter where I am or who I am with "I see you".
I created the Shut Up & Sit movement to teach others how to see themselves and others.....REALLY SEE.
Love,
Yedda
