Sometimes I think God only invented other countries so we could hear really cool expressions. Like the other day, I was walking in Zambia arguing with a street kid. He used the phrase, “Bro, we’re not coming from the same vase.” I said what do you mean vase? He explained.
In Zambia, homes often display fresh cut flowers. People there make a distinction between the part standing inside the glass and what grows above it. Let’s call them stem and bud. Partway through, I figured his point was there’s a difference between buds coming from the same vase and those growing in dirt 5,000 miles away, but in the end we’re all flowers. He said, “No” and “stop interrupting.”
It means, you can’t see my point because you don’t hold the same basic understandings. The vase is what’s shared by many and parts above it are individual interpretations. So flowers coming from the same vase totally get each other. Those coming from a crack in the wall, don’t. You’re allowed to think differently, that’s why all buds don’t point the same way, but those differences should be coming from the same sources.
I’m taking this back to CanAmerica with me because most of our arguments originate from above the glass. He’s right, including common understandings is a better way to fight. Smart kid.