gracious

one thing i would like to be more of is gracious.

that was an awesome sentence.

what is it, to be full of grace? how can i be gracious when i am being persecuted at home, at work, and now, on the internet of all places, and i feel compelled toward aggression as a mode of self-defense?

i suppose one thing is giving people the benefit of the doubt. instead of jumping to the automatic conclusion that someone is being selfish, spiteful, etc., i will choose to have some grace with or without hypotheses and explanations with regard to what his/her situation might be. i have had several opportunities to do so already, and i find myself a much happier person when i'm not stewing over how horrible people are, and why they do or say horrible things.

the next thing i am going to try to learn is how best to love people when you no longer respect them.