Today, where is your mind going as you interact with various people you encounter?

 

I know that sometimes what I’m thinking doesn’t match up when I see the result later down the road.

 

A prime example was when I was in the post office this past week.

 

While standing in line I was observing and listening to the conversation of an elderly woman and the postal attendant as he was assisting her.

 

In describing this elderly woman, I have a vivid image while standing directly behind her in the process of listening. She was less than five feet tall, wearing jeans and sneakers, and very talkative.

 

There were two things that I learned in the process of that moment.

 

People may not always appear as they are and never judge.

 

We hear we should never judge a book by its cover.  I later learned that I was guilty as charged.

 

Although the elderly woman was bubbly and without a cane, her age and demeanor allowed my mind to judge her at that moment.

 

I know several people who are beyond the age of 80 and I had placed her in that category which I thought she might be based on the signals I was receiving.

 

First, I learned a lesson that people may not always appear as they are at first glance.  Although she could easily pass for someone living in a senior living, without talking to her I learned that her mind was still sharp as a tack.

 

I know you probably asking how I learned that without talking to her.

 

Second, I thought from her looks she was someone who had someone to drive her around or that she would soon not be driving at all.

 

In both situations, I was wrong again as I ended up without knowing until she turned off to exit a different road.

 

The elderly lady that I witnessed in the post office was a grown-up version of Janet Guthrie the American former racing driver and the first female to qualify and race in either the Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500, both of which she competed in during 1977.

 

Janet Guthrie – Wikipedia

 

Yes, the elderly lady was another version of the race car driver racing down the road while being a very good driver.  The speed limit on the road went from 25 to 35 to 40 miles per hour and this woman maintained each of those speed limits increasing at the proper times.  I never needed to pass her because as soon as it changed, she adjusted and adjusted her speed.

 

I mentioned earlier that she was sharp without talking to her because if I was a police officer behind her she obeyed every motor vehicle procedure.

 

She put her blinkers on properly, changed lanes properly going around other drivers, and was a great driver overall.

 

Maybe, this elderly lady had the mindset of not letting people tell you what to do, or when you get old people think you can’t do the things they can do.

 

She proved me wrong.

 

I would give her a perfect 100 points for how she drove that car.

 

“We judge ourselves by our intentions. And others by their actions.”  ~Stephen Covey

 

Don’t judge a book by its cover ’til you’ve read the book. We judge ourselves by our intentions. And others by their actions. Stephen R. Covey, Rebecca R. Merrill (2008). “The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything”, p.13, Simon and Schuster

 

“We are all books with varying covers and different colored pages who are written and rewritten every day.”  Beverly E. K. Mendez

 

Today, I challenge you to take some time this week to reflect and think about when the last time you were wrong about judging someone.

 

Maybe you should do like I did and read the Bible as it relates to judging others.

 

 John 7:24 KJV – Judge not according to the appearance, – Bible Gateway

 

“Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment.”

 

John 7:24 Stop judging by outward appearances, and start judging justly.”