Tonight as I was putting Pax’s collar on for her last walk of the day, I unintentionally pulled a bit hard on her leash as I was standing up.
It jerked her a little and I felt bad. I apologized. She looked at me like I was a bit crazy before proceeding out the door.
She was more interested in getting outside than why I bumped the leash.
Every day we accidentally do things that jerk other people around. Sometimes were not even aware of it.
When we are aware, we hope to be given the benefit of the doubt.
And yet when we’re the ones jerked around we rarely give the benefit of the doubt.
How often do we speculate over why when it was merely an accident? How often does it fester for days unnecessarily?
What might it be like to give the benefit of the doubt more often? Perhaps as a default?
I consider myself lucky when I remember to give the benefit of the doubt. It’s too easy to get caught up in my own imagination and paranoia.