On the Small Serengeti Plain in Africa, the butterfly asked, “Mr. Gazelle what do you think of lions?” And Mr. Gazelle responded, “Well I haaaaaate lions. From the day I was born I had to run from lions. Furthermore, many of my family members have been killed by lions.” The butterfly entertained the gazelle a while longer but decided it was time to visit other animals on the Serengeti. Soon enough, the butterfly saw her friend, the Red Bellied parrot and asked, “Destin what do you think of lions?” The parrot responded, “Well I loooove lions! Whenever I’m on a lion’s back, I Neeeever have to worry about anybody messing with me. And it’s grand because I don’t have to hunt as much because I get to eat the parasites off of the lion’s back.”
We see from this story that opinions are subjective based on experience. Both the bird and the lion had a different experience with lions. The lion is an enemy to the gazelle but a friend to the parrot. Such is life! Oftentimes, we make judgments about people, not understanding that their experiences shape their viewpoint in life. It is clear here that both the gazelle and the parrot were telling the truth. Considering an issue I once grappled with, a counselor told me, “You see the world in black and white, but, the world is full of gray.” Touche! I stood corrected.
The moral of the story is experiences shape who we are, so we need to watch how we judge people. Maybe that homeless woman on Peachtree St. is not lazy after all. Could it be that all of her children were killed in a fire, and just she Lost it?
Given the same circumstances, how would you hold up? No doubt, if it were not for the grace of God, where would we be? All things considered, truth is subjective! Maybe if we knew each other’s story, we would be more compassionate.