Learning to love

I came across a new blog the other day and have been reading through her posts. The blog just started this month so there are not too many to read through. She is an incredibly strong woman and her posts have really been making me think a lot. I read a book while we were on vacation in October called Real Love in Marriage. It was a great book and made me look at things in new ways. One of the topics that is discussed in the book is the idea that no matter what others do to you that you can love them. That when we get to know a person, really know them, that we can't help but understand their situation better, which in turn helps us understand why they are the way they are. Which as a result helps us to accept things for what they are. He explained it over the entire book but in short that is what I took from it. 

And over the months I have tried to think this way more and have seen and felt a difference. Then today as I was reading this blog I came across this topic again.
 
"What if we were to think of that the next time someone cuts in front of us in a line, or someone's baby is screaming on a plane.  What if the next time your son is throwing a fit on the floor about the outfit you chose, you really stop to listen to what is really wrong.  Maybe he has been having trouble at school, or he just really misses you now that you have that new job.  Would it change the way you responded?  Would it help you want to show a little more love? The next time you feel like you have been taken advantage of or someone has wronged you...Stop....Listen.... Maybe they aren't trying to disrespect you, or offend you.  Maybe they are truly just trying to cope with a pain that hurts so deep they don't even know where to begin to find it.  Maybe each of us is just looking for answers on how to fix what feels broken in ourselves. "

It was just a reminder to me to not take things personally. People do what they do for a lot of different reasons and a lot of them don't have to do with me directly. And we all have bad days and things going on that we don't talk about or share and if we remember that others are going through things too then it is easier for all of us to be more patient and loving.