Acceptance of other people as they are right now - not who they could be, who they are trying to be, or who we hope they will be - is a great challenge. If we are in a relationship with a serious incompatibility, we have to ask ourselves, “What if this is never conquered – never resolved?”
If we can’t accept that the other person will remain as they are now… forever, then should we accept it now?
To paraphrase don Miguel Ruiz, if you have a dog, trying to get it to “Meow” for you will only be frustrating for you both. Though giving up a relationship, or the expectation in a relationship, will hurt you both for a time, the dog wants to be loved for being a dog, not to live with the pressure of feeling like a second-rate cat. So if you want a cat, get one, or learn to love the sound of “Woof!”
In your personal conflicts, be more kind, more patient, more tolerant, more understanding, and more forgiving than you think is warranted.
Although we believe we have perspective on a situation or relationship, we rarely do. Most everyone is engaged in some brutal, private war, the nature of which we do not comprehend.
-Extrapolated from a quote attributed to T.H. Thompson and John Watson
