Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.

John 7:24

We make assumptions all the time. If you’re a human being and you’re breathing, you’re making assumptions. If we see a child crying, we assume that they’re physically hurt when actually they are upset because they lost a game. We see a man walk away from a conversation and assume that he is upset with us, when actually he isn’t feeling well. We see a couple speaking loudly with one another, and we assume they’re having an argument when actually they’re excited because the bid on their home came through.

And in the extreme case of George Floyd, a police officer assumed that a black man was a criminal and it constituted a knee to the neck.  You get the point. We all make assumptions. And when we make assumptions, we are working on half-truths which can be frustrating, annoying, agitating and in some cases, even deadly. As Brene Brown says, “In the absence of data, we make up story.” Rather than making up stories, it would be better to just get the data and stop making assumptions. I am excited that tonight we are starting a new book series entitled “The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” by Don Miguel Ruiz. A friend recommended it to me, and I have loved the book. It is a short read, and it is packed with deep truths. One of the chapters speaks about not making assumptions.  Here is one of my favorite quotes:

If others tell us something we make assumptions, and if they don’t tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate. Even if we hear something and we don’t understand we make assumptions about what it means and then believe the assumptions. We make all sorts of assumptions because we don’t have the courage to ask questions.

Don Miguel Ruiz

Life would be so much easier for us all if we stopped making assumptions and had the courage to start asking questions.