It's funny... your post was the first I happened upon after hitting "POST" on my own.
There is, indeed, that very valid approach of looking at something that annoys you in another and questioning what in your own behavior is similar.
Aristotle said: "There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing and be nothing."
I did that, for a good bit of my earlier life... as a tool to avoid having to deal with people and their foibles. I took no pride it it, mind you-- just used it to "avoid." Avoid the spotlight, avoid connections, avoid obligations, avoid indebtedness, avoid responsibility.
I know that I am not always at my best and finest... but I aspire to at least take some degree of care when I undertake something.
Thanks for a great reply!
ha ha, likewise. funny, I don't usually scan posts in the "new" section - yet here we were, cross-checking/posting on eachothers'.
good quote.
t'is a fine line, determining when and when not to speak up. as in the situation with the brother-in-law - maybe the lesson is to just accept him as he is and honor him with the respect for his own life choices. though then again, maybe you can see things in his blind spots, and could serve him very well by speaking up and introducing the possibility of a higher standard for him to live up to.
maybe it's just a part of maturation, knowing when to discern what is avoidance and when it's appropriate to take a hands-off approach. no absolute answers all the time...