Sometimes, people say unacceptable things. And our immediate response is to punish them with rebuke or banishment.
Often, rebuking or banishing someone for his or her poor behaviour reflects on us poorly too. It signifies that we only heard what was said but didn’t listen. We saw but didn’t perceive what we saw.
Listening and perceiving are two sides of a coin in which, we look past the bad behaviour of others to grasp why. Maybe they are having a bad day. Maybe things aren’t good with their finances, and they are scared. Maybe they are even stressed by a panoply of things. Whichever it is, show empathy, listen and be perceptive.
