Between grocery shopping, household chores, taking care of the kids, and writing for her blog, Thoughts, Dots, and Tots, “free time” isn’t something she gets to experience often.

One day, on her way to work, Hailey got stuck behind a slow-moving truck that was struggling to reach the speed limit. She got pretty angry about it and tried her best not to lose her temper because she was in a hurry.

But, once at a stoplight, she got closer to the truck and that’s when she realized the reason for the driver’s slow speed.

In her heartfelt viral Facebook post, Hailey shared what she read on the truck’s back window. She had no idea that their time together at the stoplight would change her entire outlook on life!

She wrote:

“As I was pulling into work, I was following this car. The sign in the back window said, ‘Learning stick sorry for any delay.’

Knowing this information, I was very patient with their slow shifting, and honestly, they were doing pretty well for still learning.

Then I asked myself a tough question: Would I have been just as patient if the sign hadn’t been there?”

“I can almost definitely say no.

We don’t know what someone is going through. We don’t wear signs that illustrate our personal struggles. You don’t see signs taped to people’s shirts that say, ‘Going through a divorce,’ or ‘Lost a child,’ or ‘Feeling depressed,’ or ‘Diagnosed with cancer.’

If we could read visually what those around us are going through we would definitely be nicer.

But we shouldn’t have to see signs and have reasons to treat strangers with kindness. We should do it anyway, whether we know what is going on or not. Whether they deserve it or not.

Let’s give everyone an extra dose of patience, kindness, and love…”

The hand-scribbled message left a profound impact on Hailey. If she hadn’t seen it, she would have remained frustrated with the driver in the truck, but this way, she chose the path of tolerance.

This story is a reminder that no matter how busy we are, we should never lose the feeling of compassion for those around us.

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