Enough space in the Gobi Desert

I was standing in front of my yurt in the Gobi Desert when I saw Eegii Eegii returning.

It is late in the afternoon. The sun almost touches the sand. His life as a nomad looked so different than mine. Up until this very moment. Safe and warm the cat is hidden in his coat. If you look carefully you can see him. The neighbours a few miles further in the desert had asked if they could borrow the cat for a while because they had mice.

Huh?! All of a sudden this was a very familiar situation in the middle of this enormous desert.

People have pets and cats catch mice. Wether you live in Mongolia or in The Netherlands. What seemed so different all of a sudden felt so familiar. Later on I showed a photo of my own cats to Eegii Eegii and we discussed about the amount of mice our cats catched.

This might sound like an innocent situation to you, but to me it is bigger than that. Of course I had plenty of reasons to assume that our lives were different in so many ways. And because of that, I wasn't open anymore for the similarities. And exactly those similarities are a common ground for connection, for a friendly conversation to get acquainted. Once you feel that connection, when you feel safe and trust each other, there is space to also investigate the differences and talk about them. That day we found out there was enough space in the Gobi desert.