A friend recently shared that when she was shopping in Italy she encountered a distracted person in line ahead of her. The individual seemed oblivious that my friend had two items compared to the full cart she was trying to empty. It made sense to allow my friend to go ahead and eventually that happened. Despite the language barrier and potential cultural differences, it was communicated that my friend should go first. It was a small but important moment of courtesy.

When I encountered a similar experience here in the states and the person ahead of me didn't make that same offer, I started wondering what might be going on in the life of this person. Was there a deadline she had to meet? Had this been a difficult day for her? Was she not aware of those around her?

Whatever the issue, I stopped conjecturing and just allowed the person to be however she needed to be. No judgment. It also gave me the time to respect the importance for all of us to just be ourselves in the moment.

We don’t know the troubles others carry. We may only occasionally pay homage to the burdens we ourselves bear. Awareness can help us to avoid judging others and allow others space and respect. It is a message we can also give to ourselves.