Have you ever just looked across the pool and saw someone that you’d love to go say hi to, but you can’t work up the nerve for some reason? It’s not an attraction or anything like that, it’s more like commonalities. They have kids about the same age as yours; you love their hat, and you just think they would be cool to hang out with while the kids are swimming. Yet, you do nothing. So, the question is, what’s stopping you? Is there a small voice in the back of your mind? Is it telling you that you really aren’t cool enough to introduce yourself to that person? Is it telling you that those people are looking at and judging you? Are you looking at them and judging them because of something you see that you don’t like?

Did you know that, often, the thing you don’t like about someone else is really just something you see in them that reminds you of yourself? When you judge someone else it’s often because you yourself are insecure… The truth of the matter is that these feelings are not unique to you. Most people are insecure about something. They may not be happy with their smile or waistline; they may be unhappy with the car they drive or the old pair of shoes they are forced to wear because they have more important things to spend money on. Whatever the reasons any of us may have that makes us feel judged or makes us want to judge others, DO NOT REALLY MATTER! These trivial things do not define you or them as people.

Every situation that you have going on right now in life is temporary. You will get a new car. You will get new shoes. You will gain and/or lose weight. So will every person that you encounter. If you feel insecure about something in your life or judge someone about something in theirs, just quit it.

The truth is that everyone is struggling right now, some more than others, and who are any of us to add to the pile? There is an old cliché that goes, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Meaning: don’t judge others based on the actions and decisions that we have made in life because we are all coming from different backgrounds. We can see some people struggling more than others, but the ones we don’t see are just hiding it better than some, and some days it’s all any of us can do to put a smile on our face and get dressed and pretend to care about the world around us...

So when you see that person across the pool that looks like they have it all together, realize that they are struggling just as much as you are. When you see the person that looks like they are a mess, maybe they just need a nice gesture. Walk up to them boldly and say, “Hi, nice hat.” Be uncomfortable and smile. Show the compassion and generosity that you would want shown to you if you were sitting there struggling to make snacks for your kids while they run around screaming at each other and filling the world with the chaos that only the very young or the very old manifest. Who knows, you may just make a friend…

After all, Drumsticks are $1.50 at the snack bar, but kindness is free all day, every day, everywhere you go!

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Kevin

PINE BLUFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS