The bigger picture

She explained that this colleague had once found someone else in a similar position at this very library. At first, the person appeared to be sleeping, but as it turned out, they had passed away.

Now, I understood the librarian’s reaction better. She wasn’t irritated—she was shocked. She was afraid. Her quick response had come from the lingering anxiety of a painful past experience.

Thanks to that brief conversation, I started to see the situation from a broader perspective. It wasn’t just about the man in the chair or the librarian's reaction—it was about the bigger picture. The man who had said, “Don’t worry,” the colleague who apologized for the tone of the other librarian, and me, standing there, wondering why the tone had sounded so sharp. We were all piecing together our own version of what had just happened.

And isn’t that what we all do? We interpret what we see, make assumptions based on tiny fragments of information and then form an opinion that feels true to us. But the truth is, we don’t always see the entire picture—or the part of the picture that others see.

We end up filling in the gaps with our own stories and often those stories are incomplete. That’s where miscommunication creeps in. 

One or two simple clarifying questions could have helped us understand the situation so much better.

It made me reflect. How many times do we rush to conclusions based on what we think we know, only to miss important details?

So, here’s my challenge to you:

• Look at the world around you with fresh eyes. Try to see things more objectively.

• And when you encounter a reaction you don’t quite understand, ask yourself: Why is that person responding the way they are? Not from a place of judgment, but from a place of curiosity—so you can understand them a little more deeply.