My grandma, though not well-educated, had a saying that put some things into their proper perspective. She held that, "there is one trip we all have to take at least once, and that is Up Fool's Hill." All of us do something foolish from time to time. My grandmother had the capacity to overlook foolishness, to discount silly mistakes, and to keep loving and encouraging people to do better.
Frequently, we who are "good" have little tolerance for those who do foolish things with their lives. Where quick to scold, reject, or condemn. It is much easier to react negatively to someone's mistakes, as if we never made any ourselves, than it is to react with tolerance, understanding, and forgiveness.
How, though, do you want people to react when you do something foolish? That is how you should receive their errors. I do not for a moment suppose that my grandma was born with her charity. But I am glad that she nurtured it, and I'm trying to nurture it in myself.
How about you?
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