illustration material
Posted by: OKtogo1954 <OKtogo1954@...>
Peace,
Matt Henry
THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS BLACK OR WHITE
When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in
my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never
forgotten the lesson I learned that day.
I was convinced that "I" was right and "he" was wrong - and he was just as
convinced that "I" was wrong and "he" was right. The teacher decided to
teach us a very important lesson. She brought us up to the front of the
class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the
middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it
was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. "White," he
answered.
I couldn't believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously
black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time
about the color of the object.
The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to
come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what
the color of the object was. I had to answer, "White." It was an object
with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white.
Only from my side was it black.
My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: You must stand in
the other person's shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in
order to truly understand their perspective.
Anonymous