The Freelance Retort: Jump to Conclusions

Friday, March 9, 2018

Jump to Conclusions

Imagine if we could jump into the essence of another person.

Spend a little time in there, poking around, getting a sense of the place.

“Ah...so that’s why that woman appears so content, taking pictures of her dog. He’s the only one in her life whoever smiles at her...but does it really explain the odd choice in footwear?”

“Okay, so that’s why that guy is always so cranky...maybe he should rethink those thongs.”

“No wonder that kid has a chip on his shoulder...I would too if I had so much trouble understanding velcro.”

If we could jump inside, even for a half a minute, it might change our perspective about a lot of things.

Folks who always seemed so inscrutable, might just become very scrutable.

That is if you ever paid any attention to them, in the first place.

Because the fact is, most people aren’t really paying attention to anyone else but themselves, most of the time.

Except for that women at the deli who always makes a face whenever I ask her to remove all the corn niblets from my soup.

What?

I don’t like corn niblets.

Sue me....

I have my reasons.

And that’s the thing. We’re all so busy being “us” we never take the time to consider being “them”...and what makes them “them”.

“I can’t believe that guy means half the things he says.”

“Does that woman know what she looks like in that orange jump suit?”

Judge judge, judge...that’s all I...uh, I mean we...do.

The fact is the world doesn’t spin the same way for everyone.

Not everybody sees what we see, even when we’re all looking at the same thing.

Past, present and even “hope or lack of hope” for the future shape and color our singular worlds.

Not everyone grew up in the same perfect “Beaver Cleaver” household we think we di

d, even though, in all likelihood, there are more than a few times we also kind of think, hey, maybe we really didn’t.

Jump inside the person you see sitting on that beach, day after day, staring out at the sea and realize, it might not be the perfect tan they’re chasing, after all. In fact it might be more a case of chasing something else—something a little deeper than a tan—away.

Slip inside the head of that snobby person who brushes by you day after day at work without a smile or even an acknowledging nod.

Hey, they don’t think they’re better than you, after all. In fact, they think you think, they’re not worth your time talking to, no matter how much they’d really like to know you better, if only to find out what the deal is with the niblets.

And that kid who races around town blasting music from his car, day and night. You never realized it was the only way to put a blanket over the constant noise, pain and confusion that blast around his own head, all the time.

The disheveled guy at the park who shuffles around screaming at the squirrels, and sometimes you, had wanted nothing more than to be exactly like you...but without the attitude and of course the peculiar sunglasses. How could one person have so much crap happen to them so often? How much disappointment could you handle before you started talking to squirrels, too?

What about that clueless woman who always jumps the line, like her time is way more valuable than yours? Well, it turns out, in a way it is...but I’m pretty sure she’d want you to keep those reasons to “herself”.

And that guy or gal who’s always so cheerful, so pleasant, so funny, so “got the world on a string” happy all the time. Turns out that string’s been fraying for quite a while, now; become more and more fragile through the years, as the loneliness, uncertainty and fear boiling on the inside creeps more and more towards the outside.

Not that they would ever allow any of that to be seen...not in a lifetime...not theirs, yours or mine.

It’s an age old story...written, sung and spoken about for as long as folks could write, sing and speak.

Walk a mile in a stranger’s shoes—preferably with socks— before we judge.

Except for the guy who lets his dog poop on my lawn every day and never picks it up.

Now that guy’s a real jerk...shoes or no shoes!

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