Perspective

"The Teacher"Ashley walked into the room and turned the lights on. She glanced around the familiar room to see the same artwork, lockers, desks, and chairs that she had come to know as her classroom. The day started the same as any for her, she had her tea, her breakfast, drove her car to the school, and anxiously waited for her students.The clock struck 8:00am and students began filing in. Eager, excited, expressive, and still impressionable young minds at the ripe old age of 5."Hello and good morning!” she greeted each student as they took their seat.She began her lesson , picking up just where she left off. As the time began to melt away from a typical day, she realized it was almost over. And as she began to wrap up her lesson and the students began to pack away their things, one of her students wanted to talk to her. The student came up and had said in a very innocent tone, "I have a question! Last night my mom came home and she got mad at me. She said that it was all my fault, that I needed to do better, to be better so we could live a better life. What does she mean?"As she heard the words escape his mouth, she couldn't believe it. She began to console the student and said that his mother didn't mean it and that she loved him very much. The rest of the students left and she shut the lights off, just as she did everyday.She drove home and was still thinking about the student. She told the story to her husband saying, "I can't believe someone could say that to a child. I would never do that to one of my children. I can't believe her." As she reflected on what the mother had said to her son, the event eventually faded from her mind as she laid down to finally fall asleep."The Parent"Sarah walked into the room and flicked the switch on the wall to turn on the lights, only to find that her electricity was off. She sighed. It was the third time in two months she hadn't been able to pay her electrical on time. She just finished her shift at the restaurant up the road after having four classes for her undergraduate degree. She’d begun to finally finish her degree after she had a surprise pregnancy her second year, forcing her to drop out.She took out her leftovers from the the previous night’s shift and choked down the cold food knowing, due to an evident lack of electricity, that the microwave wouldn’t be working. So, there she sat, exhausted. Smelling of a greasy kitchen mixed with some day old sweat from her hour long walk home. She forked cold pasta into her mouth, holding back tears of both frustration and sadness. She was literally killing herself between school, work, and raising her son but saw no other way forward.As she mashed around her food and her appetite disappeared, her son walked into the room. "Hey, mom! How was today?". She looked at him and responded in fury, "It's all your fault! You need to do better, be better! So WE can live a better life!" She threw the half eaten plate of food into the kitchen. He'd seen her like this before but was confused by what she said. So, he scurried into the bedroom he and his mom shared, knowing that she needed some time alone.She put her face in her hands and wept as the noise of things clattering in the kitchen died down.A few hours later, she was getting ready to go to bed. She had just finished studying for her midterm exam the following morning. She walked into her bedroom to see her son laying in their bed, fast asleep. She felt regret sink in, like a drop of poison creeping into her bloodstream. She lay down next to him and held him close, placing a small kiss on his forehead, closing her eyes, and whispering in his ear that she was sorry and that she loved him so, so much. She felt a smile spread across his face as they drifted to sleep.One of the hardest things to do is understand someone else's perspective. So often in our lives we criticize something before taking a moment to try to understand what happened or hear both sides of a story. We find ourselves always taking the high road and looking down on what others have done. Saying things like, "I would never” or “I can't believe them." We all make mistakes. We all say things we don't mean. We all have tough times. It's understanding that we have these downfalls that makes us human. It's what brings us together, what we all share. It's these things that shape us, our beliefs, our ideologies, our perspectives.So... next time you overhear some small talk, chatter, or the ramblings of an acquaintance,  remember that there is always two sides to a story. Remember that we all go through tough times, we all say things we don't mean, we all struggle. Never forget that we all have a story to tell, if someone will take the time to listen.On purpose,Matt