~ Be kinder than necessary.
Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
I got one of those sweet, friend e-mails today that makes the rounds every now and then. I liked it and forwarded it on — it ended with the sentiment above.
As I ran my Wal-Mart errands today, I tried to keep that in mind, because I really believe it’s true. You never really know what’s going on under the surface of someone, and most people don’t wear their troubles on their sleeve. So, I thought about it and chastised myself for getting all exasperated and going around an older woman walking slowly and blocking the produce aisle with her cart — I should definitely know better than that, given my mom’s situation. I thought about it when a man in a scooter made a kinda rude remark (“Cut me off! Just like a woman.” followed by a hearty “ha ha”) It was the end of an aisle — just who cut off whom is in question. But hey, he was in a scooter so obviously had trouble walking. I thought about it when a youngish glam-type woman didn’t bother to hold the door for me (twice) when I ducked into Panera afterward for a coffee. (That time I thought a little snidely that her battle must be that the world didn’t revolve around her, even though it clearly should.)
I really will try to practice this idea though, even when it’s very hard. When people are rude or plain incompetent (been dealing with a bit of the latter the last few days) or just a little clueless. I’m sure I have my days when I’m unintentionally blocking an aisle or not noticing who is behind me at a doorway. I may not be able to stop some snide thoughts when others are clearly in the wrong, but I can surely cut them a break and hope people will do the same for me.
Writing by Ear 
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