An incident in the parking lot 
The other day I gave another driver the “you go ahead wave”. She did go ahead but she didn’t wave, smile, or acknowledge my gesture.
This got me to thinking.
If this isolated instance was an accurate portrayal of how she does life then she doesn’t have a chance at being happy. I don’t think that true happiness can exist without gratitude and thankfulness. True happiness also does not come from having all our attention on ourselves, it comes from connecting with and contributing to others.
But what I just said presupposes that I know what was going on with her. (That’s almost always a dangerous assumption). There could be hundreds of reasons why she didn’t respond to my gesture. She could be the kindest and most grateful person ever and I just caught her in a bad moment.
Then there’s my response to her not behaving the way I expected.
In these situations, we can either get hurt and offended – or not be bothered at all. We can come up with a negative judgement – or we can wonder what’s going on with that other person. We can feel out of sorts because we didn’t get their approval – or we can approve of ourselves for being kind.
When in doubt, we should err on the side of kindness and compassion.
Much Love,
Jonathan
I write these Daily Doses because I know that my content does make a difference and helps people live better lives. So, if you know someone who would benefit from today’s thoughts, please pass this on. Thanks and gratitude in advance!
photo credit: BPPrice three stooges via photopin (license)
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