“Imagine driving down the highway with a passenger. Since you and your passenger are moving at the same speed, you appear stationary to one another. Someone on the side of the road, however, would perceive you as traveling very fast as you fly past. A car traveling on the same highway, however, would perceive you as moving much more slowly than a pedestrian on the side of the road (would). Things get even stranger if the passenger throws a paper airplane from the back seat.” From The Edge of Space-Time by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (via Blinklist).  

Anyway, it’s about perspective.

It reminds me of something profoundly simple I read years ago. A lady on a bus suddenly looked around and saw every face as someone God loved. We so often judge first. The burka. The tats. The annoying crying baby and “why-doesn’t-the-mom-do-something-about-it?” The teen wearing shorts that are way too short. The same sex couple. The hats. (Note to self.)

Perspective. 

I recently came across what has been called one of the greatest short poems in English. Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro.” Including the title, it’s just twenty words.
“In a station of the Metro, the apparition of these faces in the crowd; petals on a wet, black bough.”

I decided to try on the perspective of the lady on the bus. I gained so much joy and freedom, but I also started getting judged because I prioritized grace over “the law.” Imagine. Who does that?

It’s worth an experiment. Join me today in noticing faces first?