Early yesterday morning as I was walking along the beach I saw a mum with a couple of young children. The children, wearing pyjamas and slippers, ran towards the sea and started throwing stones…
I continued for another few hundred yards, then walked back along the promenade. Mum and children were coming off the beach. Mum was holding a small baby.
I stopped to talk to a friend. A police car came up the promenade, blue lights flashing. The officer stopped: ‘Have you seen a woman with a small child?’
I described what I’d seen. They were the mother and children the police were looking for. More than that I don’t know…
Yesterday evening I watched US President Trump and Vice President Vance meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. I expected a discussion about security guarantees for a ceasefire in Ukraine; I saw an angry exchange with Trump and Vance criticising Zelensky’s handling of the war, accusing him of being ungrateful for military aid the country received from the US.
I responded strongly… But I’m a Brit. I don’t know what it feels like to be an American involved in a war thousands of miles away… or a Ukrainian, my devastated country at war, many fellow-citizens killed, disabled, displaced, and my leader asking for support…
I reflected on recent conversations… a mum whose daughter now identifies as a son… parents whose daughter has a wife and children… a man whose wife’s dementia has deteriorated so that she’s been taken into care… I can form opinions, try to be empathetic, but I haven’t been there myself.
This morning… reading 1 Samuel 1… Elkanah has two wives… Hannah, his favourite wife, can’t produce children and is embarrassed and sad… Peninnah, the less favoured wife with sons and daughters, mocks and upsets Hannah. Three characters, totally out of my experience.
Empathy? With folk in ‘I-don’t-know’ world? I’m musing on James’ wise words: ‘ Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.’
malcolmsmusings.org 
I read recently that the human brain doesn’t like to say, “I don’t know.” So, in the absence of accurate information, it’s natural for us to make things up—to fill the gaps.
One of my favorite quotes is by Ann Dunham, mother of former President Barack Obama:
“Don’t conclude before you understand. After you understand, don’t judge.”
Your posts often, if not always, prompt me to pause and think, Malcolm.
Thank you, and God Bless.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great quote. Thanks, David. I haven’t met that one before.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen to those wise words!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Wynne. I used to think that wisdom involved providing a wise answer. Perhaps wisdom is also about admitting when you don’t have the answer.
LikeLike
Often, as you have noted, people don’t always know “the rest of the story” when they jump to judgement. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Certainly, Nancy. Opinions aren’t always based on truth!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for this, Malcolm. I hope you can know that many of us Americans are SO upset, so outraged, about this current leadership in our country. We are speaking, writing, taking action, hoping, and praying that wisdom and change will come very soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m reminded, Karen, of the old song ‘It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.’ It’s not just about what is said, it’s about how it’s said, and why it’s said.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.’
Boy do we all need an abundance of this
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed – at all levels – in our families, communities, churches, politics….
LikeLike