Humanness

This being “human” thing is really hard.   I vowed that I would be more aware of my eagerness to jump to conclusions and be vigilant in not taking other people’s actions or verbal assaults personally.   That is one tall order for me.   Yesterday was a challenge.  There were several instances where I had to tread lightly while dealing with strong personalities. It is possible that for a split second, I was ready to be pissed off at a comment someone relayed to me.  I took it personally because I felt the individual was attacking my parenting.  After pausing and shifting the my view, so to speak, I realized that this person was fearful for their own child.  It wasn’t about me.

There were warning ques prior to the exchange that indicated that this individual had other outside issues going on and I was just the target of it.    We are humans trying to navigate this highway of life.   I need to be careful not to get caught up in another person’s issues.   It is so easy for me to allow other people’s emotions to spill into mine and then I end up absorbing their problems.

If there is one thing I have passed on to my kids, it is the awareness that other people’s insecurities and fears are not about them.  Responding to those in a loving and respectful way, not only shifts the exchange, but it diffuses the situation.

Alexander Pope reminds me, “to err is human, to forgive, divine”, and from that I realize that I am perfectly imperfect and that the quality of forgiveness is powerful tool to acquire.