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If we’ve learned anything these past few years, let one of those things be that we pause before making judgments, criticizing, finding fault in others. Because we just don’t know what is going in the lives of other people.
And beyond merely giving pause, let us also bring a generosity of spirit to our perceptions: compassion, tolerance, hopefulness. So many of us in today’s world seem primed to leap at the worst conclusions. Sour, bitter, angry people.
So let us hit pause & open our hearts to the native goodness in our world.
Carry on!
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For me as a writer, this single idea — that we just don’t know — fueled my most recent novel, Upstander, a sequel/prequel to Bystander that can be read as a stand alone.
In this book, I take a minor character from Bystander, Mary, and make her the main character. We enter her home, meet her family, and 
begin to see all the cares and concerns that fill her life. Most notably, an older brother (growing up, I had four older brothers) who struggles with Substance Use Disorder (SUD).
Everyone has a story that most of us simply don’t know.
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