Our own needs and emotions are the only ones that we are acutely aware of and that we know exist beyond a shadow of a doubt. Therefore to us, our own choices and actions are completely rational. That’s why it is so easy to find fault in others before ourselves. And then we tell ourselves stories about all those other people. That driver who cut me off is stupid. This waiter is so lazy. My S.O. is clueless and negligent.
The stories we tell ourselves about others are seldom true, and yet those are the stories we usually believe. This often leaves us bitter and angry, but also with a sense of self-righteousness that helps justify the bitterness and anger.
Those stories are more often a reflection on ourselves than the people they are supposed to be about. What if we let people tell their own stories? What if we stopped trying to tell others what they believe? What if we valued understanding and truth over being right? What if we chose to evaluate ourselves, before condemning others?
Perhaps we are afraid to look to carefully in the mirror because we are afraid of what we’ll see.
nANIMOv 