Be Kind

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. - Plato

Yesterday I was stopped at a stop light, waiting patiently to turn left. Then the protected left hand arrow turned green. So I waited my customary 3 seconds and then entered the intersection. Only to swerve out of the way of a car that was going 60 mph, running a red light! The car just missed us. My heart was pounding, and one thousand 'what ifs' were running through my head. 

 I couldn't help but being extremely angry with that person who was so careless. Had we gotten hit at the angle we were driving, my daughter in the back seat surely would have gotten hurt badly. I wanted to yell at them. But the reality was, everyone was safe. No one was hurt. 

Now my thought goes to Plato's quote. I don't know what that person was racing towards. Maybe they just found out someone they knew was in the hospital. Or maybe it was a girl who was upset because her boyfriend broke up with her that she was not paying attention to the light. 

Then I reflect on a time I had been a rude, careless person. 

In high school I finally had my first job, and since I turned 16 I was finally able to be the primary on my own bank account. We spent 3 hours filling out the paperwork the week before to be sure that I had access. Then one day I went into the bank, to take some money out of my account (I didn't yet have a checking), only to be told I did not have permission because I was not a primary on the account. 

I lost it, and yelled at the teller! I told said horrible things to her that I am too embarrassed to write about now. That morning I had gotten in a fight with my mom, because I had bombed a test. The teller didn't know that though. All she could see was that I was a crazy girl screaming at her about something that she did not have control over. 

I went back to the bank 3 days later, and apologized to that same teller. 

I think the point of the story is that, you should always try to give people the benefit of the doubt for poor behavior. Rudeness can sometimes come from a lifetime of being treated poorly, etc. 

Everyone, is always fighting a harder battle in some way or another. This helps me to remember to always act respectful when someone treats me badly.