Saturday, April 24, 2021

"The Freedom of Real Apologies"


 


















Above:  Layli Long Soldier and Pádraig Ó Tuama


"There’s an anecdote told about a person who asked a scientist how to make bread from scratch. Well, the scientist said, first you have to invent the universe. 

And there’s another anecdote, about a tourist who’s lost while driving around Ireland. How do I get on the road to Dublin? they ask a local. First thing to say is that I wouldn’t start from here, the local replies. 

They’re funny, those anecdotes, and also partially frustrating, which is where some of their humor lies. But they also contain profound wisdom: None of us are alone (you can’t make bread from scratch, you’re in a long-line of humanity that’s made bread) and there are poor places to begin something. "

From "The Freedom of Real Apologies"

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love these two anecdotes. Thank you for posting them, am.

ellen abbott said...

they gave me a chuckle. but real apologies...there had been a rift between me and one of my brothers-in-law (the details aren't important here but it was the third time he went off on me) later that year he 'apologised' but it was superficial and did nothing to heal the rift. I was not going to put myself in a position to suffer another verbal attack and so for the past 7 years, I have been polite if unfriendly and have avoided being around him. a month or so ago there was a family gathering and he gave me the most heartfelt apology I have ever received, that he had been wrong, that his life isn't what he thought it would be here in his 60s and he realizes that it's because of his own actions and things said and he really didn't want the estrangement between us to continue and we talked for quite a while. wow. and just like that, the rift was healed.

am said...

ellen -- So good to hear that the rift was healed. Yes. Heartfelt apology.

Sabine said...

If you want to hear even more from Pádraig Ó Tuama have a listen here: http://www.tenx9.com/podcast