it's how you look at it.....

That's the funny thing about perspectives, everyone has their own, and they're as common as opinions. Gaze at any life canvas long enough, and you are bound to find a image that not everybody else can see. What we forget, most of the time, is that there is a bigger picture involved as well. We are too intent, more times than not, on being gratified with the little amount we do understand, and dismiss that which takes a more open mind for. In a lot of cases we get tangled in the "entitlement" phase and the perception perceived by others is not always flattering. With good reason..... nobody likes a truly rude person.

I had the opportunity to read a few posts from blogsphere that touched on the subject of perspectives. One concerned a story of a waiter and hostess talking at a host stand. In walks a woman with her husband, demanding a table by the window. When told that all tables were reserved except for an aisle seat, the woman huffed, called the situation "hideous" and stomped out of the restaurant. Concerned that the hostess would be upset over the situation (as this was her first day), the waiter expressed condolences. This girl was ready though. She proceeded to tell the waiter about her 22-year old sister that just returned from Iraq. She said her sister wouldn't care what table she ate at, she was just happy to be home, as was all of her family. And BAM.... it put the whole situation into perspective.

Another story was about a man who moved into an affluent area. His neighbors, seeing a middle-aged man who rides a Harley, keep a guarded attitude in their manner toward him. What they didn't know was that this new neighbor was to keep guard on the neighborhood, while his neighbors go to work everyday. Sort of a self-applied and appointed position, he is a hero for doing this. Did his neighbors bother to find that out about him? No. They saw long hair, a motorcycle, and a motorcycle party, and passed their own judgment first. And BAM again! There was that perception fairy again.

It seemed to me that this was a good lesson in humility. It was a good time to take a peek into my past and see if I passed judgment on something without giving it the benefit of the doubt. Nope.... pretty ok here. I have to admit, I like being on the better side of karma than not. To me, it just doesn't make any sense to be outwardly rude to people, as the woman in the restaurant was. That attitude usually ends up in a very sour and miserable life.... and surely there's more to life than that. Standing up for your rights is a noble thing, but so are rules to keep you in line. If you follow the moral ones a little more closely, they are filled with social manners; the most important one is "getting along". It's what society does if they want to co-exist. That seems a pretty simple rule in itself, yet so difficult to obtain. And to be perfectly honest with you, there are some days I don't undertand why. What's so hard about "do good things".

We are lucky to be able to catch random acts of kindness glimpses here and there.... the world is not hopeless yet, but we don't see as many as we'd like. These images are projected forward as time passes through. What will recorded history say of us without truly getting to know us? Will they judge us on our wars and bad deeds? Or will they open their eyes to see the people who exist now? I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Well..... lets hope we are judged kindly by history by starting to remember what "do good things" implies.