Here is your Tuesday STORY on: SELF DEVELOPMENT: Why do we choose to accept a first impression? It seems that we have grown up with accepting them and therefore it becomes a habitual act. This accepting a habitual act alone proves how many other aspects of our life can be clouded by judgements made from assumptions. Is accepting a first impression actually the first impression? More often than not it is the second impression. The first impression is a gut feeling that we discard incorrectly. I was out shopping with the family over the weekend and walked passed a tramp. The children stared intently at the tramp and after we had passed they gave me a barrage of questions. At eight and six years old my two girls were wondering was he a nice man or a naughty stranger, and why was he sitting on the floor? I explained the reasons for his need to sit and beg, but also continued with that we all would assume that he is a horrible person, because of his unshaven and unwashed appearance. Then I followed with, the way he appears on the outside doesn’t mean that it is the way he is on the inside. He maybe able to laugh about his misgivings and have learnt some very valuable lessons in life, his soul maybe enriched with love and affection. We are better to reserve judgement than fill in the gaps and complete our first impression without all the facts. Yet, nevertheless as with our life, we seem to be making decisions with fewer facts than should be advised. To improve our self development we need introduce a goodness that prevents the proverbial first impression being accepted. Making assumptions means that you are taking risks, and taking risks causes heartache and problems. When you first see a tramp you show immediate empathy and sorrow; and only then do you put up your guard and make the recognizable ‘first impression’. The more you assume the more you are making decisions without the full facts. This leads to inaccuracies in your life; you’ll be continually going over ground you’ve already trodden. Spot the two first impressions accepted in this story. Watch also for the gathering of people who act as though they were sheep and follow everyone else’s lead and make the same assumptions. HIS NAME IS JOHN His name is John. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kinda esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day John decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so John starts down the aisle looking for a seat. The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. John gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behaviour at a college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!) By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward John. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-grey hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves, "You can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?" It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The people are thinking, "The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do." And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to John and sits with him so he won't be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget." (Unknown Author) QUOTE: "Goodness is the only investment that never fails.” (Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Highest Laws, 1854)