You Never Know

We are all looking out into the world from our own eyes, from our own perspective.  We observe things, we interpret information, and then we draw conclusions.  This is part of the definition of intelligence and higher reasoning.  The way we process information is influenced by our experiences and our knowledge.  Unless we can conclude that with all certainty a certain conclusion is a concrete fact, the conclusion we make could be better described as a judgment or an assumption.  

My friend called me today to tell me about something she had witnessed while at the gas station.  As she pumped her gas, she noticed a car driving noticeably slow in the street in front of the station.  A truck driving behind the car blared his horn in impatient protest, and startled everyone in ear shot.  The small car pulled up to one of the pumps and the driver turned off the engine.  My friend watched as the driver opened the door and emerged from the car.  A man made his way out of the car.  He leaned on a cane as he made his way to the gas pump and began to pump gas into the car.  Recognizing the driver as a man she knew from town, my friend turned her attention back to the truck driving down the street who had honked at the man.  Little did the driver in the truck know that this man had just lost his wife to cancer; that he had injured his leg in a car accident several months ago; that his son and daughter-in-law, his only family, just announced that they are moving out of state. 

This story highlights an important lesson.  We don't know what is going on in other people's lives.  We have no idea what motivates other people to do things, we may never know, and it's not really any of our business.  The person ahead of you in line may have just lost his job; the lady working in the check out at the grocery store owns a home that just went into foreclosure; the little kid who is always loitering around at  the convenient store is ignored by his father and his mother hits him when she drinks.  While the truck driver was understandably frustrated that the car in front of him was driving too slow, all he needed to do was change lanes, or wait a few extra seconds for the man to turn into the gas station.   

People's circumstances do not excuse them from following the rules of society, or respecting other people's personal liberties, but we should be a little easier with each other.  We cannot let our judgments and assumptions allow us to get so easily irritated or angry.  If we are more conscious of our thinking and how we connect to others, we will be much better at not allowing assumption and conjecture to guide our behavior.  A small change sometimes has the biggest results.

My friend made a point to say hello to the man when she was finished pumping her gas.  The man smiled at her and said, "Looks like a beautiful day today.  Don't you love it when the sun is shining?"  She smiled back at him and pulled her car out into the street.