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I was at a college graduation ceremony for my son last weekend and the keynote speaker recited a wonderful poem by Valerie Cox. It's about wrongful perceptions. As we all post to this forum, I offer it up as something to think about this holiday season.
The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox
A woman was waiting at an airport one night
With several long hours before her flight
She hunted for a book in the airport shop
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see
That the man beside her as bold as could be
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene
She munched cookies and watched the clock
As this gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by
Thinking "If I wasn't so nice I'd blacken his eye"
With each cookie she took he took one too
And when only one was left she wondered what he'd do
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh
He took the last cookie and broke it in half
He offered her half as he ate the other
She snatched it from him and thought "Oh brother
This guy has some nerve and he's also rude
Why he didn't even show any gratitude"
She had never known when she had been so galled
And sighed with relief when her flight was called
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate
She boarded the plane and sank in her seat
Then sought her book which was almost complete
As she reached in her baggage she gasped with surprise
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes
"If mine are here" she moaned with despair
"Then the others were his and he tried to share"
"Too late to apologize she realized with grief"
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.
Interesting. Tells us not to be so hasty in our judgments of people.
A little bit like the old saying about walking a mile in their shoes, trying to understand people before you criticize them.
Only in this case, it wasn't about understanding what someone had been though, it was not making a quick judgment. She simply assumed he was a thief! How wrong she was. Great poem for the holiday season a season of good wishes.
HopHillers: Thank you for that beautiful story. I have heard it before a very long time ago; so pleased to see it here so I could read it again.
Have you ever heard the joke about the only exercise I get is jumping to conclusions?
I regret that I can be that way sometimes.
Merry Christmas. No intention to insult if not your holiday, just my simple way of wishing you well.
I'd heard it before too, but it still made me laugh.
I think all of us jump to conclusions at times. Then, hours later we realize what we've done. Too little, too late. The only saving grace is that, hopefully, whatever we've done mimics something they have done.
I was at a college graduation ceremony for my son last weekend and the keynote speaker recited a wonderful poem by Valerie Cox. It's about wrongful perceptions. As we all post to this forum, I offer it up as something to think about this holiday season.
The Cookie Thief by Valerie Cox
So telling and true! I was guilty of this very thing a couple of weeks ago.
Our six year old granddaughter joined the Girl Scouts this year and I was surprised to learn the identity of her scout leader. I had met her at one of the birthday parties. She had multiple tattoos, piercings, and was playing a guitar off by herself. Her daughter was one of the GD's classmates. She was polite and nice when I met her, but I labeled her as a flake. I couldn't imagine her in a mainstream, conventional role such as a scout leader.
We went to our granddaughters investiture two weeks ago, where she said the Girl Scout promise and received her merit badges. Her leader was all about the girls, totally focused on them as a person and bringing out the best in them. It was easy to understand why our granddaughter was so enthusiastic to be a Daisy. I was so wrong and off base on my initial perception of her. Afterwards, I congratulated her on the ceremony and how good she is with the girls. She was modest and humble, giving all the credit to the girls.
I wrote her off so easily and deseved my comeuppance. This experience opened my eyes and my heart; a gift from the season and the universe to me.
Last edited by jean_ji; 12-25-2015 at 04:29 AM..
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