On my walk today, I came across these two houses sitting side by side, nearly identical in architecture. And yet, under the gable on the second story of each house are two vastly different approaches to the space. Of course, the most obvious is the number of windows - three on one house, one on the other. But there are the decorative elements, too. I wondered about the decisions that were made that resulted in these design choices.
As I contemplated these two gables, I wondered about the people who built the houses - the architect(s), the designers, the laborers. Just like the design of these two gables, they all have stories, lives that they lived, people they loved, communities they inhabited. Who were they? How did they come to build these houses? What did they go home to after their work day was done? In short, what was their story?
Most of us have heard the saying "A picture's worth a thousand words." To a degree, that's true. But I would suggest that pictures are worth more than a thousand words.
Why? Here's my theory: no one picture has the same story for everyone who views it.
What do I mean? Every picture has its origin story - where it was taken, what the context was, who (if anyone) was in it, when it was taken. But every picture also has a story for the person who is viewing the picture at that moment. How I interpret the picture, the story I bring to that picture is different than how you interpret the picture, the story you bring to it.
The same holds true for every person who views that photo. We all come at pictures from different viewpoints, backgrounds, and biases. No two people are going to interpret a picture in the exact same way.
Our approach to other people should be the same. We each have a story, a history that has shaped us. That story is different for everyone, even if more than one person shares the exact same life experiences. And we're going to interpret each other's stories in the light of our story.
So please be kind. Be compassionate. Be gracious. We all have a story to tell, a voice to contribute. Let's make sure each other's stories are heard.
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