Namaste in Action

Yesterday, I experienced something led by Dr. Shawne Duperon called “The Apology You’ll Never Receive.”

It was simple in structure yet deeply profound: paired with complete strangers, we were asked to share a wound — a situation where we had never received an apology. Then we spoke the words we longed to hear, and our partner, instructed only to hold space, gave us that apology.

I was paired with a woman I had never met before, yet our stories mirrored each other — sibling pain, loss, and the ache of absence. As strangers, we looked into one another’s eyes and spoke apologies we knew would never come from the ones we most wanted them from. We both shed tears. We embraced.

Nothing “changed.” No relationship was mended. But something shifted. I could see it in her eyes, and she in mine. We exchanged cards, and maybe we will have coffee one day — or maybe we won’t. But what remains is impact. A touch of healing that one stranger gave to another.

And it left me wondering: if two strangers can do this, what could we as a society do if we tried?

Imagine a world where people who see themselves as opposites — Liberal and MAGA, Black and white, believer and skeptic — sat across from each other, named the pain they’ve felt, and the other simply listened. No debate. No justification. No excuses. Just listening, and then offering the words of an apology.

It doesn’t erase history. It doesn’t solve every problem. But it heals something human.

If you are a person of faith, you may recognize it as the kingdom of heaven rising within.
If you are Buddhist, you may recognize it as the stillness of compassion made visible.
If you are atheist, you may recognize it as the dignity of shared humanity.
If you are Pagan, you may recognize it as the sacred threads binding all things.
If you are Liberal or Conservative, you may recognize it as the possibility of peace.

Because this isn’t about sides. This isn’t about labels. This is about seeing that we are all connected.

And here’s the truth I carried away from that moment: Healing doesn’t begin with policy or power. It begins with presence. One heart willing to lay itself gently on another, and say, “I see you.”