Day #57: That Could Be You

I found a new trick to help keep me nice.

I call it "That Could Be You."

It's a little bit like Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon, except you play it with random strangers who are ticking you off.

Someone is rude to you at the supermarket.

You look at them and think--

"You fat white trash, bitch. Somebody should run you over while you're wearing that hideous purple sweater."

--Or instead, you play "That Could Be You."

"This woman probably had a lousy day because her husband left her for some skinny tramp that he met at a car convention and now he wants alimony. She's probably overweight because she has no self-esteem because her sister was the classically pretty one and her parents treated her poorly. She's probably wearing the ugly sweater because it's all that she could afford. But for being born when you were to who you were, that could be you."

Sometimes it's a hard game, but usually by the time you're done, you've calmed down.

So either way, it serves its purpose.

It's so easy for us to judge each other, but we forget that but for a simple change in location, education, or relation, we could be pretty much anyone.

Look at anyone and realized "That Could Be You."

And you'll find it's a lot easier to be nice.