It’s easy to look at a situation and think we have all the facts necessary to make a snap judgement. Whether it’s a homeless person on the street with a sign asking for money, or certain behavior or opinion we don’t agree with, it amazes me how quickly we can go from observation to judgement, without realizing that there’s a story there.
No matter who you’re looking at, there is a story behind the person that brought them to where they are at that moment. This story could have been written over years or decades, or maybe even over a few minutes. These stories can be tragic or triumphant. They can be unbelievable or even quite ordinary. Peoples’ stories are as unique and varied as the people they are about.
The thing to remember, especially when we start feeling judgmental, is that we usually don’t know the whole story that shape the people we see. We think we do, but in reality, we are often just mentally filling in the blanks. That said, it reminds me that perhaps in place of judgement toward others, we would do better to offer grace and remember that we likely don’t know the whole story.