The Importance of Maintaining Perspective

Sometimes we forget that there are two sides to every story.

I learned about Marie Antoinette in grade school. The lesson was the basic one we all were told- she was brought from Austria to wed the young (and final) successor to the throne, Louis XVI at the age of 15 during the French Revolution. After 7 years she gave birth to the first of four children. A naive teenager, she spent extravagant amounts of money on dresses, hairstyles and chocolates during a time of famine and poverty in the land. Marie was hated by the people for her spending and Louis was tossed to commoner status and beheaded, followed soon by his Queen.

Many have forgotten that she and her husband the King were very charitable. They adopted orphans and raised some in the royal court and purchased the best education for others in boarding schools. Several hundred people were trampled during the fireworks show at their wedding reception and Marie insisted they pay for medical and living expenses for each family during the healing period. When out on an afternoon ride her carriage trampled a farmer, and Marie personally tended to his medical needs and carried his family financially until he was healed and able to work.

A spoiled princess raised to be wed to a king, growing up surrounded by lavish opulence and quite obviously unprepared for the political side of reigning an entire country at the tender age of 19. Now, I was not there, and did not personally know all sides to the story. But there is always something more than what the history books tell us, as in this case, or the news reports.

A little bit closer to home, here on Steemit I was editing an educational article with @blue-pencil. It was about how to introduce children to the world with social studies. In the middle of this article the author seamlessly wrote about how evil a certain portion of the population is, and how they cannot be tolerated and must be punished here on earth before they go on to be punished in the eternal fires of hell.

It was all done so nonchalantly that I literally just sat there with my mouth agape. It was very professionally written and didn't contain hate speech, even though the subject matter was, quite obviously. I proceeded to write a professional yet no nonsense email on how this type of subject matter was not tolerated by our organization, and that we would not accept this.

The author responded with apologies. He asked for details and reasons why and seemed very concerned.

In talking with this person, I soon realized that he was not a hateful individual. He was actually a very sweet and sensitive 19 year old. He did not understand why these particular sentences were offensive. He genuinely appeared to not have meant any harm with his statements, he was simply reciting the verses he had learned every day in school.

This is what he knew. This is what he was taught, how he grew up... He knew no other way.

Now I am not going to get into the argument as to at what age does one become responsible for their thoughts and actions; when does the blame no longer rest on upbringing- that is not the purpose of this article. That is a whole other post :)

The point here is that although you may never know both sides to a story, you must keep in mind that there is much more you do not know, and you should always give the benefit of the doubt.

We can easily fall into the trap of jumping to conclusions. We react first without knowing the whole story. We then base our beliefs on that emotionally charged bit of information.

Some of you may remember this story I wrote last summer:

And this is so true, it hurts my heart. The dog and the man are in exactly the same place, same circumstances, suffering many of the same degradations, physical discomfort, poor health and heartaches. But so many people are more likely to turn a kind eye on the dog and dismiss the man.

You don't know what the dog did to get there. Maybe he ran away. Or bit a policeman and got free. Or his owners beat him and he escaped.

Just as you do not know what the man did to get there. Maybe he ran away as a child to escape abuse and this is the only life he knows. He too could have bit a policeman and cannot find employment after incarceration.

Remember there is more happening than you know. It is not for you to judge. Keep your mind and your heart open. And be patient with those who are not aware enough yet to know what you know now.

Be blessed my friends, and have a beautiful weekend ♡

Images via Pexels

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