I have known loneliness, both physical and moral. I have experienced the agonizing pain of losing a loved one. I have learned that elsewhere can be also found just a few kilometers away from home.
Of course, I have been spared many other sufferings in life, and I am aware of this, although the reason is not clear to me. Or perhaps it is.
Maybe I have been given a gift so that I could treasure it and use it for the best, for myself and for others.
First of all, I don't feel special, but I became a mother in a special way, thanks to adoption. She colored my world, metaphorically and not only.
I looked at others through her eyes – all the others. I scrutinized them more carefully. I perceived expressions of abandonment, bewilderment, anger, and pain. With her by my side, I wasn't afraid to approach the stranger because, in any case, I had become a bit like a stranger myself, lost with every change of city.
I listened. I learned.
The Indian, African, Eastern European, and Asian students to whom I have taught Italian over the years have taught me things I have never read in books.
I started the ABCs of empathy, constantly striving not to judge hastily, starting from my own point of view.
A tiring exercise – almost as much as learning to conjugate Italian verbs – but extremely meaningful.
A small step that we could all take; a huge step to remain human.
Anna G.
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