Everyone Doesn't Think Like You

This is a universal truth, but one of those universal truths that you just don't grasp until something that could shake your belief in all that is comfortable and snuggly and warm happens without warning. Notice I didn't say "safe." Nothing, and I can repeat this until I've used up all my breathing space on this planet, is safe.

You roll along, in marriage or in relationships or career, and do your every-day things and never give a second thought to the other sides of the box. You never think about what the woman on the bus seat next to you is thinking about her world or about what your employer might have to say to you that morning. You don't really ever consider anyone else's thoughts. You're too wrapped up in what you think, what you want to accomplish or what you need to get done.

What other people who touch your life think and do and need is just as important as your own  thoughts and actions. There is no other way to put it. You cannot continue to roll along in your own self-absorbed being and pretend that you are the most important soul on the planet, and that others need to recognize that fact. You also cannot work on a team – and also recognize this universal truth – that we are all on some sort of team, with the egotistical theory that no one else really knows you, or that no one else can help you or that no one else has as much important things to do as you do.

Everyone is important. Everyone matters. Their thoughts and opinions and their work, regardless of what it is, is important. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the guy holding the signs asking for money is not as important or necessary to someone as you are. He is. You are no better – or worse – than anyone else.