I easily accept that some individuals I encounter like me and genuinely wish me well, but there are a handful of people who I feel unsure about. I mistrust their motivations, and imagine that they have strong opinions about who I am and the way I do things. I build whole cases and conditions around a look they give me- that it means this, that, and the other thing. I think they don't like me. I think they're mad at something I said, or didn't say- that I did, or didn't do. I fret over imaginary issues and speculate all kinds of strategies to make things right.
And then, something simple happens between us- a pleasant exchange of words, a smile, a demonstration of kindness, and I realize that my projections have been all wrong. There is no issue except for the one I've created in my mind. Which is not to say that some people don't have a problem with me. I'm sure they do. But it is never what I think, and never what I project.
I want to remember this the next time I head off running with thoughts that someone is displeased with me, and make a decision to allow instead for the very real possibility that they are likely overwhelmed with their own life, and not actually thinking about me at all.
I resist the temptation to make assumptions about what other people think.
