friends & strangers

so i am relatively convinced that part of what makes us care for humans writ large (or qua human, as the academics seem to like it) are the experiences of encounters with individuals that come into our experiences and surprise us with their likenesses--we are surprised to realize that that the woman who doesn't look like us shares some of the same fears and dreams. all those spring break trippers, all those jesuit volunteers--that was part of the goal. without these face-to-face encounters, it seems to me, there is a shallowness in our general care for the Other. we need to be shaken at our corp by that which is different from us (but startlingly similar) in order to move toward care for the planet, people in general, etc.

but when is it too much? is mother teresa too much? was she even really human? was she able to have close friends? or did she actually live the pre-1963 model of catholic nuns: no particular friends because they had to be prepard to care for the world, not for each other. Its a compelling argument, but so unrealistic because its disconnected from the relationality that makes us human. but still, we don't think a good person is one who only cares for their friends--we expect more than that from each other, from the so-called human community. so what's the balance? how do we maintain the integrity of our personal relationships (with the implied care that comes with being in communion with another) and care for our non-personal relationships?

sheesh, oh sheesh. i don't know, but i need to come up with something in the next two weeks!

i'm off to mire around some more.

oh, also: its like 60 degrees in boston. almost 70 yesterday. what the hell is going on?

k.