Doing The Best We Can

I truly believe in the above sentence. It's easy to think sometimes that people are just cold and insensitive. It's easy for us to brush off rudeness and disrespect as part of a person's character. 

Some people have grown up with adults telling them they are not good enough, some have PTSD. If they have not worked through these issues, they may not know the difference between reactionary behavior (flying of the handle) and responsive behavior (taking the time to pause and reflect.)

What is so hard to see sometimes is that...

We are all doing the best with what we have. 

This may be hard to believe when you see some of the actions of others, but, it is likely that the people that are making poor choices didn't get something they needed growing up to make better decisions now.

There are many developmental stages we go through. There is a stage where we learn about our emotions, and then another stage involves learning how to control them. Some kids don't learn either of these skills, while others may just be missing one.

This might be why some people may not be able to control their reactions. Or, they stay in a bad mood for a very long time.

Now that we know this, we can use it as an opportunity to de-escalate conflict.  It's important to note that all of this doesn't excuse their behavior it just helps us understand them more and respond to them accordingly.

By showing patience and understanding, we are teaching others how to communicate in a healthier way.

Even if we are only planting the seed.