It hits differently when someone accuses you of something you didn't do. It is an entirely different case when you do something, get caught and someone points a finger at you. On the other hand, it can be devastating when someone points a finger at you for something you didn't do. At that point, it feels like the whole world is against you- your hands become wet, your eyes become teary, and to make the situation worse, there's no evidence to prove that you're innocent. It is even more painful when someone close to you wrongfully accuses you. Whether the accusations come from your friend, family, or a total stranger, the feeling can be painful and haunting.
We are all human, and humans make mistakes. We make mistakes. We judge a book by its cover. We assume a situation before even getting to know the depth of it and sometimes, we accuse others of something they didn't do. I have been on both sides of the equation. I have wrongfully accused others and I have been wrongfully accused myself. From my experiences, one thing I have learnt is not to make judgments and assumptions. Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations where we judge a book by its cover. Last year, we had a group presentation in school and I was the group leader. In our first meeting, one of my group members dressed shabbily. He had both ears pierced with earrings on, wore ripped jeans, and had a tattoo on his hand. When I saw him, I assumed he wouldn't be able to contribute at all. If anything, I assumed he was there to cause trouble. To my surprise, he spoke well and contributed the most.
As I mentioned above, I have been on both sides of the equation. I have wrongfully accused others and I have been wrongfully accused myself. The latter happened a few years ago when I was the president of an organization in church. Every Saturday morning was our general cleaning. We cleaned the chairs, removed cobwebs, mopped the floors, and cleaned the liturgical vessels. In the catholic church, liturgical vessels are equipment used in celebration of the Holy Mass and other sacraments. These equipment are made of silver, gold, bronze, glass and so on. In simple words, they are super expensive. After cleaning, it is my duty as president to ensure everything is in place. So, every Saturday after cleaning, I check the equipment one by one before heading home. When I'm in a position that requires attention to detail, I take it seriously. That's one thing about me - I always make sure to analyze all the equipment before leaving. On that Saturday, everything was in order. However, the next day, Sunday, something surprising happened.
One of the candlesticks which was made of glass had been broken. I got to church a bit late and I was surprised to see that the youths were all gathered, looking sad and gloomy. It wasn't until one of my members told me what had happened that I realized what was going on. Apparently, the priest noticed this and told some other people. They all accused us since we were the ones in charge of cleaning the equipment.
The most painful part was that they were not ready to hear anything from us. I understand that these things are expensive, but they should have at least listened to us. Before we left church on Saturday, when we came for cleaning, I checked all the equipment one after the other and they were all in good shape. We finished cleaning in the morning, and other organizations came to church for rehearsals, so it could have been anyone, but no one was ready to listen to us. In the end, we had to contribute and buy another candle stick. We paid for a crime we didn't commit.
Thanks for reading.
