I arose early this morning for my regular Wednesday workout and found a thick blanket of fog had covered the neighborhood and streets of the town where I live. The drive was cautious and mysterious as streetlights and stoplights emerged from the gloom, then disappeared as we moved through the morning mist.
The funny thing about fog is that while it conceals, it also at times reveals depending on where you stand – much like people.
My family and I went to see the smash Broadway musical, “Wicked” last weekend and I discovered an important verification of what I’ve always been taught about people; don’t judge based on only what you observe. Put another way, the same principle is taught: “judge not that ye be not judged.”
For those who haven’t yet seen this production, the story is told from the point of view of the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ and is based on the story from the L. Frank Baum novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
The audience is treated to a glimpse of her perspectives and relationships with the Wizard, Glinda, the Munchkins and the other characters. Turns out that she’s not so wicked after all, just misunderstood and generally mistrusted because she’s different (mostly because she’s green – and not with envy).
The lesson here is pretty clear, but a gentle reminder to withhold judgement until one gains a truer perspective is always good advice and makes for a much richer daily experience.
It’s still foggy, but the sun is doing his best to burn it off and in the end, we may have a sunny day after all. Today, I’m going to do my best to do the same.
That’s my perspective. What’s yours?
