How often have we heard or said it?  Probably more times than we can count.  We say it to show surprise when we meet someone at an unexpected place or find out that we share a friend, an acquaintance, an experience, etc., with another person. It’s meant to indicate similarity or connection.

Most of us have ridden the water-based boat ride located in the Fantasyland area of the various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide, and everyone has heard the song:

It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears

It’s a world of hopes and a world of dreams

There’s so much that we share that it’s time we’re aware

It’s a small world after all.

The theme is peace and unity among people of all nations.  Is it ironic that the ride is located in Fantasyland?   A dream as yet unfulfilled, a goal still out of reach?

After my previous blog, I received a copy of the following poem from a fellow writer.  It was authored by Lucille Clifton (1936 – 2010), an American poet, writer and educator from Buffalo, NY, and  appeared in her collection printed all in lower case.

the river between us

in the river that your father fished

my father was baptized.  it was

their hunger that defined them,

one, a man who knew he could

feed himself if it all came down,

the other a man who knew he needed help.

this is about more than color. 

it is about how we learn to see ourselves.

it is about geography and memory.

it is about being poor people

in america.  It is about my father

and yours and you and me and

the river that is between us.

The sentiment expressed in those words rings true in recent events– pleas for reform, protests for justice, There is a deep schism in our society filled with the troubled waters of discrimination, destruction, and desecration. It is time to build bridges rather than barricades; to seek similarities rather than differences; to understand rather than undermine, to work together for a better world.

Maya Angelou (1928 to 2014) American poet, memoirist and civil rights activist, is credited with the quote:  Be the rainbow over someone else’s cloud.  The cloud is a symbol of sorrow, stress and storm; the rainbow, composed of many colors, one of peace and serenity. Its appearance provides hope and motivation.

To insure a peaceful world, each one of us must commit to being the sign of peace, justice and hope to all of our sisters and brothers, regardless of superficial differences.

There is just one moon and one golden sun

And a smile means friendship to everyone

Though the mountains divide

And the oceans are wide

It’s a small world after all.

Congratulations to my niece Elizabeth, her husband Justin and their son Oliver who welcomed a new member to the family on July 2^nd.  After 940 days of foster care, they adopted their new daughter and named her Claire.  God bless them for their open-hearted generosity and love.