Seeing More (Originally posted on Facebook Aug 26, 2013)

Riding home from work the other day I happened to look down and noticed my shadow that was being cast upon the fast passing ground. As I looked at it for a little while I noticed that it appeared to be very smooth and calm. I found this a stark contrast to the buffering of wind, bumping of roads, and vibrations of the motorcycle I was actually experiencing. I realized if someone were to just see my shadow, which is a limited representation of this situation, they would think the ride was a calm and smooth ride with very little challenges or effort needed. This got me to thinking of how this is a reflection of people and their lives. When we first look at other people what we see is a very small and brief representation of their total self. They may look as though they "have it all together" and that their life is so ideal. However, we don't necessarily see the buffeting winds of relationships, bumps of life, struggles they are facing or have faced, or the lifetime of experiences they have had. This often leads us to make very misguided judgments, whether good or bad, on people we come in contact with. Just as someone watching my shadow may assume I am experiencing a smooth and flawless ride while I'm being blown around by winds in various different directions, how often do we look at someone briefly and assume they have had an easy or hard life and modify our interactions with them based on this limited information? When we take the time, and it does take time, to actually look at the person as a whole, we can gain a better understanding of who they are and how they came to be where they are today. When we limit the "stories" we create based on little information and take time to discover the truth, we may find a lot of the people we once thought of as "better" or "worse" than us, are actually very similar. After all, we are all on the same ride we call life. And just like riding, even with the bumps and buffetings, it can still be fun.