We chased our pleasures here
Dug our treasures there
But can you still recall
The time we cried
Break on through to the other side

Song lyrics: The Doors – Break on Through

One thing that Shane Claiborne wrote about in his book, ‘Irresistible Revolution’ was that the problem was not that rich people don’t like poor people, but that rich people don’t know poor people.

Yesterday, after presenting an Improv workshop in Cape Town for some young school children, I decided to catch the train home. When I got there, there was a two-hour delay on the train. So I had to make another plan.

Long story short there was a lot of walking and two minibus taxi trips. I absolutely loved those, because it has been so long since I’ve been on a taxi.

What blows my mind in South Africa is that probably most white people in this country have never been on a minibus taxi.

A FRIEND CANNOT BE AN OTHER

Another thing that is hard for me to get my head around is that most white people in South Africa have never stepped foot in a township.

A few months ago I visited my friend Nkosi and he took me to Shisa Nyama (which could boldly be translated as big plate of meat as that is what it is.) A line of braais (South African barbecues) on the edge of the township cooking some really great meat, where chicken might be seen as the side salad. It was an incredible experience and just a great time of getting a glimpse into where my friend lives.

Once you’ve visited a township with someone who lives there, you begin to have a very different understanding.

WHAT ARE THE WALLS YOU NEED TO CROSS?

You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day
Tried to run
Tried to hide
Break on through to the other side

For some people it’s a minibus taxi or a third class train ride. For others it’s stepping into a township. But what would it be where you are? What are the artificial boundaries that have been created around you that help keep you away from people who are different to you in some way?

Because this isn’t just a Cape Town thing. It’s not even a South Africa thing. Some of it may be colour, some of it is class, some of it may be lifestyle or even religion. But there are things in place where we live and until we have crossed over and visited and looked and listened, we will likely sit with huge prejudice and judgement.

Any time we ‘Other’ someone for whatever reason we create a wall between us.

I found an island in your arms
Country in your eyes
Arms that chain
Eyes that lie
Break on through to the other side

But the moment we step towards. Or embrace. The moment we reach out and invite someone to share their story. That shift that happens when someone steps over the threshold into your house, or invites you to do the same at theirs. That is when relationships begins. And unity grows. Community starts to form.

How about if each one of us were to look for a way to ‘break on through to the other’s side’. Take your first taxi drive, jump on that third class train carriage, ask a township friend to show you around.

And then come back here and let us know how it went.