Entering someone else’s garden

In our Statement of Directions, we Good Sams commit ourselves to “to be re-shaped by our cross-cultural richness”. This statement tells us that living and working in cross-cultural communities is both a challenge and gift.

The challenge comes from stepping out of my known and comfortable frame of reference. I step into world of the ‘other’, that is to the one who comes from a different culture, so that I can be enriched by the gift of better understanding or a changed perspective.

When two or more cultures come together there can be both fascination and tensions due to real difficulties of communication and interaction.

A rich metaphor to describe the process of crossing into the cultural world of another is that of entering into someone else’s garden. I enter into another’s garden. I tread carefully and respectfully, aiming to reach a place of mutuality and genuine dialogue.

Good Samaritans who work in cross-cultural settings want to make dialogue a reality.