In a previous blog, after meeting and interacting with a young, homeless girl, Katie, on the streets of Chattanooga, I wrote the following words:
I
need to take the time to ask and listen. I need to learn about others and
understand their stories before I just assume their situations. I need to love
others as much as I love myself because I know that the love I have inside of
me may make a difference in the life of someone else who doesn’t understand or
know love like I do... Until then I will listen to those around me. I will
understand and not assume. I will open up my mind and heart to whatever it is
the world wants me to know and learn. I will share my story to those who want
to know it. I will strive to make a difference in whatever ways I am destined
to do so.
Since
then I have thought about Katie every now and again. Sometimes I have also forgotten to
have a conscious mind of the lives of others. There have been plenty of days
when I think to myself: “Erin, you don’t know where they’ve been. You don’t
know their story. You don’t know what life is throwing at them right now.” Yet,
there have been plenty of other days when I’m oblivious, judgmental, and cruel
in my thoughts towards others.
This
morning during a conversation about judging others for things they may indirectly
do that interfere in our own lives made me remember these words I had
written so long ago. We all face challenges and need understanding from time to
time, and we also all judge others for the challenges that they may be facing that we have no knowledge of and may even refuse to acknowledge. Think about
it. Think about the last time you were ticked off because of something some
stranger unknowingly did to you. You know:
that guy who is driving crazily down the interstate, weaving in and out of
traffic, trying so hard to win the race in the Nashville I-40 500, who causes
several to honk, cuss, and think bad, negative thoughts which could result in a
bad mood for the rest of the day. Or the woman who is fifteen minutes late
boarding the plane to a flight when the other 299 passengers have been anxiously
and angrily ready and waiting on her arrival only to be met with boos and
dirty looks.
Now,
let’s take a minute to think about where that man racing down the interstate
may be going. He may be going to meet his friends for a beer and doesn’t want
to miss kick-off. He may be going to work and overslept, so he uses speed to
make up for time. He may, however, be racing to the hospital because his wife
of fifty years was in a life-threatening car accident and was life-flighted to
Vanderbilt. Or he may be on his way to St. Thomas where his four-year old son
is being treated for Leukemia, but he had to be away from him for eight hours to
go to work to pay the piles of bills that still cannot be paid on time. Who
knows? A good guess would be not one person in that line of cars who honked at
him or gave him the old salute of the middle finger that day as he was in a
hurry to get wherever he was going.
How
about the woman who was late to board her flight causing the other passengers
to be late to wherever they are going? She could have spent thirty extra
minutes trying on seventy different outfits to only conclude she has “nothing
to wear.” She may have been sucked into Farmville or Candy Crush and couldn’t
pull herself away from the computer soon enough to make it to the airport in
time. She may, however, be on her way to be with her sick mother who lives on
the other side of the country, and before she boarded the plane, she had to get
her three children dressed, packed, and carried to the designated babysitter,
all by herself, of course, because her soldier husband died oversees in battle
three months prior. Who knows? A good guess would be not one person on that
plane who booed her as she clumsily shuffled down the narrow aisle of dirty
looks and judgmental stares.
So,
again I am reminded that I need to remember that everyone has a story. That
story may change from day to day. That story may be more affected by one’s
childhood or more affected by a specific recent event. Regardless, it is story
I do not know. A story that may or may not be a good one. A story that I may
never know or may never want to know because it is too heart-breaking. A story
that I am not in control of or have anything to do with. The only thing that I
am in control of is my actions, thoughts, and love towards others. I can choose
to judge, or I can choose to take my own advice:
I
need to take the time to ask and listen. I need to learn about others and
understand their stories before I just assume their situations. I need to love
others as much as I love myself because I know that the love I have inside of
me may make a difference in the life of someone else who doesn’t understand or
know love like I do... Until then I will listen to those around me. I will
understand and not assume. I will open up my mind and heart to whatever it is
the world wants me to know and learn. I will share my story to those who want
to know it. I will strive to make a difference in whatever ways I am destined
to do so.
I
challenge you to think about this as well. Think about it the next time you see
a homeless man on the streets who is too proud to take a dollar from anyone.
Think about it the next time you witness an angry woman in the line at a
grocery store. Think about it the next time a person may accidently cause you
miss your connecting flight (and it is not the end of the world, but whatever is going on in his/her life could, in fact, be the end of their world). Think about it
the next time you find yourself getting angered because of what someone else is
doing or how he/she is dealing with whatever life is throwing at them that day,
week, month, or year. Chances are, at that very moment, all they need is love: a
smile, a kind word, an understanding glance. And, chances are, you’ll feel better
because of this positive interaction as well.
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