It's a small world after all...

I apologize for using that title for this entry because I know that now I have put the seed of that blasted song in your brains and it will be there for a while. I went to Disneyland once and that Small World ride almost drove me insane - around every corner, tiny animatronic children singing that song - over and over and over and over again. But I digress...

I belong to a website called Community of Sweden. It's just something I found where people who have been to Sweden, love Sweden, or just want to know about Sweden can share stories, photos, and information. Through that site I started emailing a lovely man named Arsh and his wife who live in the US but who have traveled to Sweden often and love all things Swedish. We started emailing because we are both teaching ourselves the Swedish language. Again, I digress...

At Community of Sweden, there are a lot of people interested in sharing just the every day aspect of their lives and then celebrate the differences. I find the whole site charming and sweetly simple. The other day, Arsh emailed a whole slew of us with the idea that we would start a "day in the life" chain. The point is to just describe an average day - what you ate, what you did, who you talked to, why - and share it with the group. Arsh started it off. I joined in. Since then a few more people have sent their "typical" day. (This is where I get to the point of all this... sorry.... ) The first person, other than Arsh, who sent their day was a young man with Aspergers Syndrome. I found his description fascinating as I work with many people who have the same disorder who aren't able to communicate. To hear his perspective was genius! The second person who shared a day was a teacher in Sweden who worked with disabled children. Again, fascinating! I work with the disabled here so to hear this from another country was amazing. The last person who sent their day was a mom of two who lives in Sweden. One of her children (now an adult) has a mental disorder. Again, this really hit home with me. It seems that each person I have "met" on this website has something in common with my line of work.

Maybe it isn't coincidence. I'm sure that somewhere on the site I may have mentioned that I am a social worker and work with the disabled. Maybe we were all drawn together by that and I just didn't know it. Whatever the reason, the information they shared with me showed me that all people process these situations very much the same. All people live with stereotype and stigma and hardships. And all people have the ability to overcome as well. It really is a much smaller world than we think.