[vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″ id=”” class=”post-content” style=””][text_output 0=””]Thinking the wrong way is one thing but not thinking at all is far more dangerous. If we can’t think, we are left to drift through life with the idea that we are right and everyone else is wrong. However, there is great wisdom in being able to understand the heart of the others around us. Someone who is never wrong doesn’t need to be corrected so once they go off course, they will eventually continue that way to their peril.
Marc attended a public school in his hometown. Everybody was cool but John was the school bully. He never had friends and the other kids were afraid of him because, at the slightest provocation, he would start a fight. Teachers were very frustrated with him because he also slept in class a lot and never did homework. It seems he was always angry but one day Marc saw John crying alone behind a building. He was in shock!
He noticed over time that John did that a lot but he dared not approach him. One day, he followed him after school, he stayed far behind because John would surely hurt him. From a distance, he saw John reach his house. His mother came out to meet him, she looked weak and was coughing viciously. She hugged him, took his schools books and handed him a bag. He sat down for a bit, hugged her and left. When John left, Marc followed him and he ended up at the local stone quarry. He was working there, evenings to nights. Child labour was something he heard of but hadn’t seen before.
John eventually saw Marc and calmly walked over to him. He seemed sad but came, sat beside him and said, “Why did you follow me?” Then, he confessed everything. His father had died the year before in a mining accident and as the only child, he was now working to support his mother who was seriously ill. He slept in class because he was tired from working the night before. He cries because he misses his father and life was just…hard. He was angry because he was stressed out but nobody could see it. Nobody wanted to understand. People saw his actions and just wanted him to change to suit them. Nobody tried to understand his position, nobody cared – he hated them all!
This is a sad story that most of us can probably relate. How many times have we assumed that we knew the heart of others around us? We sometimes end up judging situations because of how they look to our eyes, never caring to look for the truth. Many misunderstandings are created this way and cause our hearts close to those who genuinely care about us. We trust what we think we know and are quick to judge everyone and everything around us. Oftentimes, our perception becomes our reality even if it isn’t true
On the surface, John seemed like a problem child bent on causing trouble. However, once Marc learned about John’s true life and struggles, he could see John through different eyes. He was lonely and in need of a friend and not a tyrant, A lot of times we want bad situations to disappear rather than trying to determine the root cause. For example, why is your supervisor always mad at you? Why is your friend always sad? There is a reason, we just never cared to look for it.
If we can just try on someone else’s shoes every now and then: and try to see things from the other person’s point of view, it will change the way we relate to others around us.[/text_output][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row padding_top=”0px” padding_bottom=”0px”][vc_column fade_animation_offset=”45px” width=”1/1″][vc_raw_html 0=””]JTNDc3R5bGUlM0UlMEEuZW50cnktdGh1bWIlMjBpbWclMjAlN0IlMEElMjAlMjAlMjAlMjBtYXgtaGVpZ2h0JTNBJTIwNDAwcHglM0IlMEElN0QlMEElMEEucG9zdC1jb250ZW50JTIwJTdCJTBBJTIwJTIwJTIwJTIwdGV4dC1hbGlnbiUzQSUyMGp1c3RpZnklM0IlMEElMjAlMjAlMjAlMjB0ZXh0LWp1c3RpZnklM0ElMjBpbnRlci13b3JkJTNCJTBBJTdEJTBBJTNDJTJGc3R5bGUlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]
