Misunderstood

MISUNDERSTOOD

You think you know me

I say not

There is much within

That you know not

I am not a character

In your life’s plot

These assumptions

We make of each other

Are passed on to friends

One to another

We are judged then

Not by who we are

Leaving in its wake

An indelible scar

What can be done

To affect change

And bring understanding

Within range

We must continue

To tread life’s path

Without anger, sadness or wrath

With steadfastness

We hold true

And with prayer we do imbue

If another dismiss you

Ti’s their loss

For these judgments

Are life’s dross

Lest we partake

Of that same fate

We must turn instead

Towards our own heart

For in self-awareness

We make a start

Our thoughts and actions

Have their affect

And hurt or please,

Without respect

And once we

In that state do go

Our true self

We better know

The deeper awareness

Of others will show

And as both a person

And community we’ll grow.

-Shiidon, May 2011

People are quick to make judgments about others. I have been accused of being "dirty" (messy) and a spendthrift. I have also been accused of the opposite of both of these. We think we know each other and then again we pretend to know each other. What stings is when I hear from a person that does not know me that I am something or not based on what others have spoken. Is this truly just? I think not. While it is never pleasant to be accused of something that you are not, I simply don't care and keep on going.

What triggered this poem in the end was the news story of a man that took the life of his wife and her family last week. He was painted out to be a monster of sorts and you would think so for what he did. However, it so happens that I knew him and spoke to him two days before this happened. He was upset because his wife left him and took their child. I tried to tell him from personal experience that things would work out in the end as long as he stayed on the high road; that his child would be there for him. I knew him as a gentle and pleasant soul. He died whilst evading the scene. We will truly never know him or those other lost souls. Why is it then that we feel we need to pass judgment on anybody? I remember a pained soul. Could I have done more? I will never know.