When you first meet a person

where do you begin

do you notice their hair

or is it the color of their skin

do you first see their shoes

or the clothes on their back

do you notice their height

are they skinny are they fat?

Do you watch the way they walk

or the way they stare into space

do you first see their legs,

their body, or their face?

Do you observe what they eat

or if they talk with their hands

do you know what they're thinking

do you think you understand?

Well you're wrong. All of it is wrong.

You don't know how they feel. You don't know where they've been.

You don't know what they've done. Or if all they need is a friend.

Stop using your eyes, because they've been blinded your whole life.

The only thing that can see clearly any more, beats in your chest. So stop assuming the worst, and stop assuming the best.

Because people can be great and life can be hard.

And sometimes, people are just dealt a bad deck of cards.

Don't judge a book by its cover, but don't judge it by it's ratings, or it's age, or it's condition either. Don't forget that it's the details of a book, the ones that many people overlook, that make it truly, truly great.

So don't just walk a mile in their shoes, don't just “pretend you're them for a day”, don't tell them you know how they feel, just listen to what they have to say.

Stop jumping to conclusions stop skipping to the end, stop closing the book before it's even been read. You can't understand a person just by first glance, so start with their first chapter and give them a chance.

Because you may be amazed at the things that you might find with wisdom enough to open your mind.