My-Way or the Highway is an unjust approach to life & your fellow human beings, yet it is practiced fervently by the many. Some have good cause too. However, in the interest of promoting a "getting to know you" mentality, to discover who the other is, what they are feeling or experiencing, even before we rush to obvious judgment, to put yourself in another's shoes gives not only perspective, but pause to ponder
ENEMY OF ROLE-REVERSAL?
A person's vanity plain & simple. A story you tell yourself how you come first & nothing else matters produces a lesser person for the experience. Don't bother to argue because no one is stopping you from feeding your ego & pride. Consider:
another's journey
WORTHY NOTE: "I met a man who complained about his shoes until he met a man with no feet". You quickly empathize & are grateful for the lesson.
THE NEED TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Haven't you felt the discomfort of being left out or misunderstood & your urge to do something about it? If you have, then you remember how important it was to you for this to happen. Role reversing allows us to know & be known for a cause.
WORTHY NOTE: We want & need for the other person to understand us at times
OTHERS WANT TOO
Not much is said on this subject, but it is an underlying dynamic that is always present and at work. You see, we are programmed to monitor everything around us with a mindset of "what's in it for me" mentality. I don't fault the awareness, but I sometimes wonder if people forget that other people are just like them too.
HUMANITY AT WORK
When you consider that no two people are a like nor are their circumstances, the world now becomes personal instead of all business. When lenders foreclose or bill collectors come a calling, it is empowering to have a one-sided cause and to carry it out. When you come into possession of the whole story, humanity then becomes a wild card at play revealing there is more going on than meets the eye
WHY DID THEY DO IT?
People who do not play by the rules have many reasons some can be traced all the way back to childhood. It doesn't excuse dysfunctional behavior, but it does allow us to see what set-up the present circumstances. Judges in court rooms need to know more than just what law was broken before they sentence someone. Why plays a big part. It doesn't excuse but respects humanity realms
NOT EVERYONE CAN HANDLE IT
Police who stop alleged violators of traffic laws are aware of the different dynamics area to area. A violation committed in a high-class neighborhood is different than a violation in the ghetto. The well-off violator can deal with the intrusion & shrug it off while the less fortunate could be forced into unemployment, no food or instant despair via the fine. Not your problem? That's what Scrooge said in a Xmas Carrol
WORTHY NOTE: We cannot help the whole world, but we can remain sensitive to life & how it has its ways especially when you least expect it. Happens to everyone
DOG EAT DOG...
It would so easy to just use law and regulations to carry out mandates without compassion or consideration. That would make it a high stakes game to stay alive & promote more dog eat dog dynamics. People make mistakes lots of them because having never been here before makes us all on a learning curve. Trial & error is normal. We all learn & experience at different times, ways & about things
WHAT THEN?
Accountability with compassion. A pause during interaction to see what is going on from more than one point of view. It has been said that when we start to understand someone, we stop judging them. This is time well spent & necessary
YOUR FEELINGS
Any person's death, suffering or misfortune should affect us all as I cannot ignore another & become indifferent to their journey. Keep an eye out for making a small difference in someone's life if you can. After all, there go you but for the grace of God is no myth. At best, help if you can. At worst, do not cause another suffering
Comments(4)