Do you know the whole Story?

My daughter has had a saying the last few years that was something like - You know my Face, but you don't know my Story.  This saying has been echoing in my head for a long time.  I love to people watch.  It is a great past time.  But with this saying in my head, people watching is so much different.  I wonder, what is their story? When someone is being rude to a clerk, I wonder what is going on in their world that makes that acceptable. (Not that it is ever acceptable, but in their current position they may feel that it is).

As you know I have had my struggles the last 3 years.  Some of which has "earned" me a handicapped parking permit.  For a long time it was very necessary, for example when I was in a wheelchair, or using a walker.  Now I walk under my own power, with a slight limp.  I still have the handicapped permit, and for a while I actually felt guilty using it.  Not when I go to something that might require that I walk a mile to get to my destination, but at places like church or the grocery store.  I have gotten "the look" from people wondering if I really needed the handicap spot.  When that happens I hear that saying in my head "You see my face, but you don't know my story".

We all have stories that make us what we are.  Most of us do not take the time to understand that there may be a reason that the person in front of you in line can't find her wallet in her purse and is holding us up.  Perhaps she just came from the hospital where she was told her mother is in critical condition.  Or her husband just came home and told her he wanted a divorce and she has no idea what her future will look like. Standing behind this person in line, many are thinking "why did I choose this lane, she is going to make me late".  Wouldn't having compassion, even not knowing what they are going through,  lower frustration levels for everyone involved?  I know this has been my experience as I have let that little saying play through my head.

Yes, admittedly, there are some people that are just rude by nature, but wouldn't your frustration level be reduced if you made up a story about them in your head that would make you feel compassionate instead of angry?  So the next time a car cuts you off in traffic, or takes the parking spot you were about to park in, remember you are just seeing their face, and not their story.