What Fits in a Square

After spending a few fun-filled days in Scottsdale, my aunt and I began our trek to Sedona. As we were driving out Wednesday, we stopped in Phoenix. My aunt needed to take care of some things at the post office, so while she did that I walked around the immediate area.

Right outside the post office was a park.. Er, maybe a city square would be a more accurate term. I decided to take a walk through it, a walk which lasted less than five minutes.

The abundance of diversity I saw in that five minutes is what is absolutely astounding to me. Under the trees were a couple of homeless men, dozing in the shade. A jolly bearded and shirtless man sat in the sun talking loudly on his cell phone. There were some tables on a large cemented area, and several ladies were enjoying a snack while chatting; others were engrossed in work on their computers. 

A bit further up there were several benches and a bus stop. I saw a family of Asian descent with their packs speaking to each other in some language I could not quite place. Several people of various ages sat on the benches in rugged clothes with ripped grocery bags filled with what I assume is everything they own. A nun sat on a bench waiting for the bus and conversing in Spanish with another person. An elderly gentlemen in a motor chair passed me on the sidewalk. Throughout the entire area I just described, there were college students walking with their backpacks and conversing in a joyful manner. 

In a walk lasting less than five minutes and covering an extremely short distance, I saw such a wide variety of people - different ages, languages, social classes, ethnicities, and stories. Yet they had something in common: they were in the same location, whatever their reasons for being there. There were no conflicts, and everyone seemed to be treating everyone else in a very friendly manner. 

This is the way the world should be; so often we let little differences come between us, but it doesn't have to be that way. It is possible for everyone to live in harmony despite the things that set us all apart. It only took a walk through a square in Phoenix to teach me this.