Choir Notes

Assume the Best

From Music and the Spoken Word

Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4284

Things are not always as they appear. It’s easy to make assumptions, only to find out that our quick judgment is not at all accurate.

A grandmother experienced this recently when she took her two teenage granddaughters to a choir concert. She wanted so much for her granddaughters to feel the peace and joy of this kind of inspiring music and had planned well for this special event.

As they sat listening to the choir voices fill the magnificent hall, the grandmother was moved to tears. When she looked at her granddaughters to see if they were having a similarly moving experience, she was disappointed to find them writing notes. How could they not be touched by this glorious music? Why would they be writing notes to each other instead of reveling in the beauty of this sublime performance?

After the concert, to her surprise, she discovered that her granddaughters had been writing a letter to their brother back home, telling him of the amazing experience they were having at that very moment. They were enjoying the concert so much, they could not wait to express their feelings in writing. They were wishing their brother could have been there to feel what they were feeling.

How many times have we harshly judged someone’s actions without knowing the whole story? Since we can never know all the facts, we might as well assume the best. If we resist the tendency to make quick judgments and instead cut a little slack for all who may be behaving in ways we do not approve of or understand, then our lives and the lives of those around us can be more peaceful and our relationships more rewarding.

Assuming the best is an act of kindness we can all give to one another. As Rabbi Harold Kushner reminds us, "When you are kind to others, it not only changes you—it changes the world.”1 Joy Lundburg

1 Forward to Practice Random Acts of Kindness: Bring More Peace, Love, and Compassion into the World (2007), xvi.