The park is blooming. Camellias, I think?

I wish I was better at pressing pause, even for a few seconds, before I judged people, especially strangers. My mind is quick to draw conclusions, based only on the signs they have in front of their houses, the stickers they have on their cars, or the conversations I overhear while waiting in line at the grocery store.

What if I could write better stories in my mind? Think different thoughts?

I think it would make me more merciful, more gracious.

Because I  don’t know much about anything. I like to think I do. But I don’t.

I don’t really know why that man in the black diesel truck with the “Let’s Go Brandon” flag streaming behind it is driving so erratically down the freeway, why he pulled up close behind me, why he zoomed off after I could finally let him pass.

My immediate thought? (You can probably guess.)  Not so generous.

But instead of that, what if my first thought was, “Maybe he is late for work, and if he loses his job, he will lose his family’s insurance which is critical right now, because his wife is pregnant and his little boy is sick. His little boy has asthma! And he is running late because he had to find the misplaced inhaler. Which is why he was tailgating you. And by the way, he feels very bad about that, but it is critical that he get to work on time today.”

Thoughts like that?

They would change how I feel about that driver.

Sure, those thoughts may be wildly implausible.

But at least they are more fun.

Maybe my family could create a mantra to explain the actions of the harried, hurried drivers around us:  “Their baby is coming!” or “Their house is flooding!”

That would help me a little.

Also?

Along with these judgments of people, I am quick to judge situations. I assume I know when events are good and when they are bad. Continue Reading…