All I want

My brother and I were recently discussing what we want, or rather what *I* want. It came in the middle of a conversation on "Battlestar Galatica", so there was no actual depth in the discussion at first. I mentioned along with wanting the new season of BSG to start RIGHT NOW, I would also love world peace, and my brother pointed out that would mean people would stop having to act like people.

So all I want for Christmas this year is for people to stop acting like people. We spend too much time picking at each other, too much time thinking about what we don't have compared to what other people have, and not spending enough time to understand where someone else is coming from and why they act the way they do. Understanding doesn't necessarily mean agreeing, but it can be a way of developing respect for another person's viewpoint or background or actions and finding common ground -- in other words, a way to get along with someone you'd really like to avoid spending time with or talking to (I'm thinking of Ann Coulter's nastily titled book, "How to Talk to a Liberal... If You Must" as an example).

My New Year's resolution (seven days early! Go me!) is to be more patient and to listen more so I can hear where people are coming from. It never kills a person to be nice to someone, no matter how much you don't want to be. So, really my resolution comes down to: I'm going to try harder to be nice and understanding with the people who make me nuts.