A couple months ago, my daughter, Devon, was walking around DC with her roommates and their boyfriends. It was the four of them simply enjoying some fresh air when a woman approached them and berated them for not socially distancing. I guess she thought she had the right to correct their wrong, but there was one small problem with her assumption; they were all living together so there was no need for social distancing. They were essentially a family unit going out for a walk.

Then there was the recent customer at the ice cream shop my daughter works at. The woman overpaid in hopes of getting bills instead of coins as her change. When my daughter paused to figure out the math, the woman took that time to shame her for not doing it quickly enough. Would it have helped the woman to know Katie’s dyslexic?

Sadly, in this world, we don’t know what we don’t know—yet somehow we think we do. We publicly spew out our thoughts, our judgements, and well, if I’m being honest, our hate. What if, before we opened our mouths, we said, “I don’t know the whole story here.” Or better yet, what if we asked ourselves one question, “How could I handle this with grace and compassion?” Hmm. Grace and compassion. That sounds like a great place to start, especially now. 

With Gratitude,
Beth

Please share my daily musing with your friends and family. They can sign up at https://www.fitzgeraldlifecoaching.com. Thank you! ~ Beth