The little things...

So there I was, sitting on the platform at the Pioneer Square station in the bus tunnel downtown. Minding my own business and people watching, while I waited for the bus to arrive and carry me off to my cube for another seven and a half hours of top-notch customer service. When a man caught my eye.

Looking less than 'put together,' this fella didn't so much strut as much as saunter down the platform. The man carried himself and was dressed in a way that some would classify as “thugged-out.” Given that the man was far older than I, (now 31) I was quick to pass judgment and write him off.

But just when you think you have the world figured-out, it goes and zigs...when you expect it to zag.

As I was sitting there passing judgment on this 'loser,' another bus arrived and an older woman who had been sitting next to me, got-up to hop-on. The woman had a rolling cart for her belongings and was having trouble getting it onto the bus.

To my surprise, the “thug” nearly tripped over himself as he ran over to assist the woman with her cart. All the while, what did I do? Sat there and did nothing.

It was a forehead slapping moment. I shook my head, chuckled and thought “Well, I got that one all kinds of wrong. Whoops.”

Needless to say, I was disappointed in myself.

The saying, “You can't judge a book by it's cover,” repeated over and over in my mind as I rode the bus (of shame) into work.

Sometimes it's the littlest things that can offer the greatest lessons.

I pride myself on embracing diversity and being open to other points of view...yet there I was writing-off a seemingly heck of a nice guy, based on nothing more than his appearance.

Life happens all around you. If you focus too much on yourself or the world as you want to see it, instead of how it is...you are going to miss out on a lot.

No real tidy sum-up to this post. Just one of those random “A Ha!” moments that I felt like sharing. So, just keep the eyes open for chances to grow.