Why Do Other People Always Mess Up?

"Your ideas about how people "should" be are honorable and well-intentioned enough, but they're also very immature. It's immature not to listen closely and work hard to grasp WHY people who are different from you do the things they do. It's immature not to recognize how hard people struggle just to come up with a system for dealing with their disappointments and frustrations. It's immature not to recognize that most people DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT LOVE IS. Most people don't feel loved enough. Most people feel abandoned and lost. Most people are trying, with every word out of their mouths, to get more love — MORE MORE MORE — from the people around them. Most people chase money, real estate, stuff, fame, attention, sexual intrigue, gossip, just for a little taste of love, just for a momentary glow of acceptance and happiness from the world."

Ask Polly: Why Do Other People Always Mess Up?
Heather Havrilesky