My initial interactions with people in Boston left much to be desired. And I quickly fell into a dangerous trap of complaining “boy they sure aren’t friendly here.”
Then, our little group of tourists appeared on the streets of Boston, looking confused and lost. A stranger approached and asked if we needed help. She was extremely kind and full of helpful information.
Today I mistakenly stepped into the street before realizing a bus was trying to go my direction. I stepped back on the curb….the bus driver shook her head with disgust, accepting responsibility I apologized (her window was open). She continued to shake her head.
I began to realize the people that I felt were being rude were the people having to deal with pain in the butt tourists. Their lack of compassion for my need to make them smile made a little more sense.
What really made more sense was the idea that there are good people everywhere, not so good people everywhere and really not good people everywhere. It has nothing to do with whether the people live in Texas or Boston. It also doesn’t matter if they are black or white, christian or muslim, gay or straight….people are people. Sometimes perfectly good and kind people have horrible things happen and may not respond to us in a way we think is kind or appropriate. Unless we know their story, their emotional state or their recent interactions, we really have no reason to judge them or place our expectations of behaviors on them.

Its easy to forget that we are but a small speck in this great big world and sometimes other people may stumble over our feelings. Forgive them and move on. Appreciate the people that show kindness and share a smile with those that may not be having the best of days.O