Putting Into Practice #2- The Perceptual Process

My wife and I made it a goal this summer to go and do something fun every weekend.  Neither of us works or goes to school on Fridays so usually by the time Thursday evening rolls around we are out the door. This week we were headed to Logandale, Nevada to my parent’s house.  While we were getting on the freeway near the Bloomington Walmart in St. George I had a random thought to pull over and double check the car just to be sure.  When I pulled over I realized that a homeless man that was trying to hitch a ride thought that I was pulling over to pick him up.  As he approached the car I had already had preconceived ideas of who this man was.  Years of hearing stories about people getting hurt by picking up people on the side of the road poured through my mind.  Yet at this point I didn’t have the heart to tell him no.  Reluctant I cleared out a spot for him in the back seat and helped him load his bags in the trunk.  As we drove away I continued to form an idea of who he was in my head.  He smelled awful and had really long hair.   My mind was racing with thoughts like: I wonder if he has a gun or a knife, what mistake did he commit in his life to land him on the streets, and is he on drugs?   As we drove down the road we asked a few of the basic questions, “Where are you from? , Where are you going?”, and a few other questions. I was completely wrong about who this man was.  His name is Tim.  He is from riverside California and has a mental illness.   When asking about his family he told us they wont talk to him and havn’t spoke to him in years.  He is going to Pheniox Arizona to hopefully reconnect with some of his family.  Thoughts like this started to enter my mind; should I take him home and let him shower?  Should we give him some money or possibly even let him stay a night or two just to enjoy a good nights rest for once.  It was amazing how much my opinion changed just by asking a few simple questions.  Just by getting to know somebody.  Tim was an awesome man and with some love and support could be an awesome contributor to society.  It is amazing to me how we can judge someone based on opinions we form in our own head and how dramatically different that opinion becomes once we actually get to know someone.