Take a closer look

I just thought I'd put a few pictures of Michael doing what he enjoys doing so well, to see if he is paying any attention.  He hadn't been reading my blog until I chastised him for not being my biggest fan.  He does enjoy his pastry, I'll have to say.

There was a considerable amount of litter on the trail today.  I picked up all that I could, considering the fact that the trash bins were so far apart and it meant carrying everything for about a mile.  But, I didn't disturb the bag of dog poop the man placed along the side of the trail this time.  I told him, as I jogged by, that I wasn't going to take his bag this time.  He said he's like Hansel and Gretel, he needs it to find his way home.  Okay, to each his own.

I notice that when I'm on the trail, not everything is as I think it is when I am looking from a distance.  However, as I get closer, I find that what I thought, for instance, was a plastic bag at a man's feet was really the roller blades he was on. Or, some one walking away from me is actually coming towards me.   What ever, things just aren't all that you think they are until you get closer.

That's true about people.  As you get to know them a bit and talk with them, you find out the truth about that person. Good or bad, but I do believe it is usually for the better.  For instance, there is a woman who walks her little wiener dog before she goes to her job as a trail attendant each day.  I have always said hello as I ran by each day and she never even looked up, keeping her eyes on her dog.

Then today, after I used the restroom, I saw the woman, her name is Mary, cleaning them up.  So I told her how much I appreciate her efforts and how nice it is to go into clean bathrooms on the trail. When we got to chatting I learned all kinds of things about her, her children, two daughters, and  her interests, she helps with her daughters' soccer teams. She told me some of the problems they have had with vandalism and the challenges they face on a daily basis. She's a nice lady.

So I changed my former impression of her, now that I have gotten closer and had a chance to know her a bit. It just takes a moment to stop and take a  second look to get to know people a bit. Who knows, it just might change your thinking and alter your world for the better.