Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Hard Done by ME??

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

I have spent most of my life, it seems, living by this principle.
I normally do not feel understood by most people, and I have
an insatiable desire to understand everything around me.

Along with my quest for understanding, a habit I took up early
in life is to try and put myself in another person's shoes.
I aspire always to see the other person's perspective.
I don't talk about it much with anyone;
it is simply a mental habit of mine.

It is always a delicate balance, when one is routinely
misunderstood, between the urge to compel understanding
within another person, and the acceptance of that person's
right to their own point of view.

I rarely, if ever, intend harm or insult to another. But if my words
or actions are interpreted that way, what then?
Do I search my soul for some unacknowledged malice?
Do I try to see the situation from that person's point of view?
Do I apologize for something I am accused of, even though I
don't feel I did anything wrong?

I think I am done saying I am sorry.

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