Have you played Boggle?

It’s a word game played with lettered dice and a game board. The objective is for players to find and create as many words as possible from sequentially adjacent dice within a set time limit.

After spending a few minutes dissecting the board, you think you’ve exhausted all the possible word options.

Afterward, everyone goes around the table, sharing the words they found.

Without fail, other people say words you didn’t find, yet once they say it, you look at the board and—Aha, there it was!

What’s that about?

You spent minutes staring at the same board but didn’t see what others saw. Once they point it out, you see it—you understand.

So much judgment towards other people is the cause of looking at the same boggle board, yet seeing different words.

I have my view, you have yours, who’s right? You’re both right in Boggle, yet that’s often not how the real world works.

We want to believe our view or political party is right. Yet if we spend time listening to other people’s perspectives and how they get to them, we may disagree, but we can at least understand—which is the mark of compassion.

Seek to understand rather than be understood.

I repeat this daily, yet I continually struggle.

I have a neighbor who lives above me who tests my compassion. I judge her for some of the absurd things she says or does.

I must continue to question what it must be like for her.

What was her childhood like?

How hard is it for her to be a single Mom of two boys all these years?

It must make sense.

When you don’t understand someone’s behavior, say to yourself, “It must make sense.”

These four words open the door for compassion and understanding.

People are complex yet simple. Most are doing the best they can with what they know and the experiences they had.

Early trauma, abuse, rejection, humiliation, pain— they have lasting effects.

The person lashing out in the store for no reason? It must make sense.

If we discovered he was a boy raised as a dog, we might open to a more compassionate view.

Next time you find yourself judging someone in person or on social media, ask...

What does their boggle board look like?

It must make sense.

The world needs more understanding and less judgment.

We need unity, not divisiveness.

Love heals.

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Here's a practice to help you Seek To Understand.