Apparently my predilection for a black/white world view has been influenced by my upbringing. Consider the following advice (which, for the record, I completely support).
I was complaining to my dad about someone at church. This person had not fulfilled their responsibility, which resulted in a lot of extra stress and work for me. He commented that people like that are arrogant and self-centered, and need to be taught a lesson (or something to that effect). I then went on to counter with all of the hardship that this person had experienced in the past few weeks, and how things had been very difficult for them.
My dad looked at me for a moment, then said "Well, there it is. Either they're jerks who don't care about others, or they're people who are in a bind and should be forgiven. Don't keep waffling in the middle."
I thought there was a lot of wisdom in this observation. I do spend a lot of time waffling and complaining over things when I should just let go and move on. Hanging out in that gray area can be stressful, and I guess I never really broke it down like that. Thanks, Dad.
PS- Are you ALWAYS going to be smarter than me??
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