On my way to work this morning, I rescued a turtle. He was trying to cross a four lane road during the height of the morning rush hour. I noticed the cars in front of me were swerving around to avoid hitting him. I stopped my car, put on my hazards, and amidst the honking of angry drivers, picked up Mr. Turtle and ran him across the road to the banks of the nearby retention pond. To show his gratitude at being "rescued" he peed on me. I guess he did not perceive that he was being rescued. Perhaps, in his micro view of things, it just seemed like some big monster had rudely yanked him up off the ground as he was peacefully going about his morning stroll and then had the audacity to drop him off at some foreign location.
Later in the day I went out to the park across from my office to eat my lunch. As I was munching on my chips, I noticed that an ant had found its way into the Frito bag. As I squished him between the layers of foil wrapper I thought "poor guy, just prior to his untimely demise he was probably thinking how lucky he was to have made such a big score." Another case of failing to see the big picture.
Despite how much I fight it, life is a persistent teacher. How often, I wondered, have I been guilty of forming a perception without seeing the whole picture? How often have I formed a conclusion while looking through blinders? With any luck, I will be reminded of the turtle and the ant next time I am tempted to judge.
