The best they can

When you have a relationship with someone, you tend to cut them some slack.

After all, you know that your kids, siblings, friends, and longtime colleagues have other things going on in their life which means they’ll make mistakes at times. Or come across as brittle when they’re under stress.

We’re only human. So why don’t we do that for people we don’t know so well?

The worst example, I suppose, is when someone cuts you off in traffic. Your response? “They’re an idiot!”

Well, friends, I was that person a couple of weeks ago. I can blame it on the rain, but the truth is that I was distracted and made a mistake. And that other person would have been justified to think I’m an idiot.

The truth is that life is imperfect, and that we’re all just doing the best we can. Sometimes we don’t have all the information. Or we’re having a bad day. Or we make a mistake.

And I can choose my response. The next time I get annoyed by someone, I’ll just think that perhaps they’re just having a bad day. Because that’s the most likely explanation.

We’re all just on the human journey.