Recategorized

I stood at the checkout line behind a rough looking man in Dollar General one day. His long scraggly hair didn’t have as much white as his unshaven face showed; his well-worn wife-beater shirt displayed his old faded tattoos and his weathered face had an unapproachable sternness. I watched as he placed a pink coloring book of unicorns and a box of crayons on the conveyor belt of the checkout counter. My mouth moved before my mind did. “Those don’t quite fit your image,” I said.

He looked back at me a little shocked but then softened as he said, “I was over at the laundromat and there’s a little girl running around with her mom either ignoring her or yelling at her. Thought she might like something to do.”

I smiled back as it became clear how grossly I had misjudged him. The unapproachable, stern face transformed into one of kindness and gentleness as my mind recategorized him.

I still have to practice daily what I learned that day. I judged him immediately on his appearance as not being a worthy person but after one short interaction I realize he was probably more worthy than me. Now, the trick for me is to learn to judge everyone as worthy until after I’ve had that short interaction and then, when I find them unworthy, cut them some slack because I sure know I don’t live up to everyone’s expectations and sure glad I have people care about me anyways.