Our Viewpoint

It seems as though a lot of conversations lately have come back to a common theme: you never know what someone is going through. There continues to be a lot of tension and division in our world, not just on a national scale but even in our small towns. People are still on edge. People are still in heated discussions about public health, politics and myriad other topics.

This week, my friend Chelle made the analogy that we're all like ducks. We're all just swimming through life, and underneath we're all fervently paddling just as hard under water. The point is, you never know what is going on in other people's lives. Someone might be dealing with health issues, family problems or stresses at work. But we don't see that when we run into someone at the grocery store or gas station. We might encounter someone and think they are just a grumpy soul, but we don't know how hard they are swimming under all the stresses of life.

We need more compassion and understanding. Instead of going into public meetings expecting to struggle and have division, walk in expecting to make progress and have productive discussions.

I have another friend who jokes that I'm too much rainbows and unicorns, and he's probably right. I always give people the benefit of the doubt, sometimes to a fault, and I truly want to believe that people want the best for each other. After all, we're all ducks swimming through life together.

—Annie Wooden