This past Sunday afternoon, I had an unexpected visitor come to my front door. Since I live well off the beaten path, that doesn’t happen very often. When I opened the door, he said, “Hi, I’m David Turner,” and then handed me a book I’d ordered online. It turns out the book was delivered to the house of David Turner, just not the right one.
The David Turner on my doorstep recently moved into the area and actually has a similar address. Unfortunately for him, this wasn’t the first time there’d been some confusion. Apparently, he’d also had his paycheck deposited into my bank account!
All of this got me thinking about the harm we can sometimes do to others without realizing it. For instance, I know my intentions towards others are generally good. But as Donald Rumsfield famously said, “We don’t know what we don’t know.” We don’t know how our actions or inaction might unintentionally hurt others.
With that in mind, I believe the best thing we can do is to live as gently and mindfully as possible – and always be ready to forgive. Even then, there are no guarantees, but choosing love is always the best way to go.