You can't park there!

When I was an undergraduate student in college, I had a pickup truck with manual transmission.  I parked my vehicle in a great spot, and headed off to class.  After class was over, I walked to the lot where my trucked was parked, and was stunned to see that my truck had moved from where I had parked it to an empty handicapped parking space.  More correctly, I did not have had the vehicle properly secured in gear to keep it from rolling, so my truck rolled backwards into the vacant spot.  Fortunately for me, nobody had parked in that vacant handicapped spot, so my truck harmlessly rolled into the space and came to rest against the concrete parking stop.

As I approached my vehicle, I was astounded and relieved that my truck hadn’t damaged anyone else’s vehicle.  As I entered the truck and started it up with a smile of relief on my face, a woman walked by with a scornful look of disapproval on her face.  She made it very obvious to me that she was not happy about the fact that I was pulling out of a handicapped parking space, when I had no parking permit for that type of parking space.  Little did she realize that I had not intended to park there.  She didn’t know the fact of the situation, which was that my car had accidentally rolled into that location.  Her perception of what was the truth differed from what was actually the fact.

Truths are interpreted –
facts can be proven.

How many times are we quick to judge, based on limited factual knowledge?  How many times are we quick to assume a truth when we don’t know the facts?  Let’s all work to remember that we should take time to give people the benefit of the doubt, and not make assumptions about one’s intentions until we have all the facts.  Truths are interpreted – facts can be proven.

Remember that what you see is not always what it appears to be.  A passing co-worker with a scowl on their face or an unreturned smile may not mean they are unhappy or upset with you.  Your assumption becomes a truth you create in your mind.   They may have a concern about a business-related matter that they are mentally processing, and not really taking notice of the people passing in the hall.

Let’s work this week to remind ourselves to be patient – to give others the benefit of the doubt, and to put assumptions to bed where they belong.  Let’s work to separate truths from facts.

“The worst mistake of first contact, made throughout history by individuals on both sides of every new encounter, has been the unfortunate habit of making assumptions.  It often proved fatal.” ~David Brin

Have a great day!

-Victor