Other options...

I love having conversations with my grandson, Sean.  No matter what the topic, when we're deeply engrossed in a subject--oblivious of anyone or anything around us--he'll pull back and say, "But, Grandma, if you look at it from another point of view...."  I LOVE that quality in him.   Sean has opinions, sometimes strong opinions, but consistently stops to view other ideas, notions, and  research around the topic.  He stretches my mind.  He makes me think.  But more importantly, he inspires me to find greater empathy for other people and ideas.

I am continually tested by the question: Am I so engrained in my own ideas and opinions that I refuse to consider other options?

I sit on a board that discusses child abuse cases.  From the notes I receive on any one case, it can appear obvious that a parent is making no effort to engage in services.  My defenses for the children are up!  I want this parent to be held accountable!  Then I hear from the client, and I see the pain, and realize how few tools there are in their fix-it toolbox.  A single parent.  Homeless.  Trying to get off drugs but with only drug-using friends.  Certainly this parent must be held accountable, but hearing another perspective on the  story, I see this individual before me in a completely different light. 

Occasionally I meet someone socially whom I want to dislike--hair color, shape of nose;  we need little rationale.   I  look for any reason to build my case against the person.   Then I hear their story.  I slip on their soil-ridden, holey-soled shoes.   A picture of their life slips into my heart.  And I hear Sean's words:  But Grandma, if you look at it from another point of view....

I continue to learn from the older and wiser AND from the younger and sometimes much wiser...

“You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, 

until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

                      ---Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird