DO WE CREATE OUR OWN WALLS?

Sometimes I have my supper in a small restaurant near me.  Generally there is no specified seating nor is there a host or hostess to seat customers.  People pretty much go to a table with friends.  Sometimes
a customer will go to another table with strangers where there is room for others.  When this happens there is a good chance to get to know people I might not know otherwise.

That was the situation I was in a few weeks ago when I sat down with two women of color.  We chatted in an amicable way and then they told me they were waiting for another friend.  I offered to leave but they wanted me to stay.  I did  and we found a number of things to talk about.

We seemed to be enjoying ourselves until their friend arrived. It was clear to me their friend seemed annoyed with my presence so I excused myself and left.

Afterward, I wondered what had annoyed their friend who I also knew. Was it because I was of another color?  Was it because they simply wanted to have a private conversation?  Or was it because I imagined an anger displayed toward me?  I don't know.  What I do know is that we were at table with four women who might have enjoyed an evening together had we not allowed anger or anxiety to place a wall between us.

I thought too about the precious time we spend building walls when we are with people with whom we could share so much, yet in a mistaken effort to protect ourselves we create our own wall.