A Better Apology

We have all hurt others. 

We have all been hurt by others.

If relationships are to survive, apologies are necessary.

We know that our please-forgive-me offerings should be sincere. But, like you, I have witnessed white-washed apologies that are forced and sometimes defensive. Our plea is often ambiguous as we try to smooth over our responsibility. We include global terms like anything or everything when presenting our verbal contrition. 

In a world offering such an assortment of hurtful techniques (in person and online), I am hopeful that we can overcome our divisions with well-crafted love-based apologies. 

 

Co-authors Marjorie Ingall and Susan McCarthy break down 
the six (and a half) steps to great apologies. 

Feed My Sheep

This could be a strange day. I needed something to do since I woke up a few hours early. This story came to mind.

AI-Generated

For an explanation of the source, please see Allegory of the Long Spoons

Oppositional Compatibility

The title might point you to my ignorance, but believe it or not, it was intentional.

Let’s start with the issue of the week. At the bottom of this article, you’ll find links that apply.

I have not given up. I still want to see Everybody Deserves move forward. I have indeed invested a few hundred dollars in this idea. I seek not a return on investment dollars, but a Return On Relationships and Community. 

Starting Point

It begins with, 

• A bang. The pistol has been fired. The runners leave the blocks. The race is on.
• The scraping of metal on dirt. Earth is flung aside revealing a hole. Construction has begun.
• A key is turned (or a button pushed if you’ve got a newer vehicle). The engine turns over and the vacation begins.

Each small action triggers something new. We call them starting points. They are the first thing that turns a goal into reality. They begin a journey that eventually takes us to a finish line, an education, or a new home.

I’ve been getting stuck on that term, lately. More precisely, I’m getting stuck on the timeline for the entire process. 

Understanding that a point-in-time physical action creates momentum to move toward a goal, it seems difficult for me to discard the origin of an idea, the diligent research, and the painstaking preparation that precedes those actions as irrelevant to the phrase ‘starting point’. 

Jerry and Dryer Lint

Unrelated, both events took place on Saturday. 

For a while now, I have shared laundry appliances. But it’s the dryer that I will focus on today. More accurately, it’s the product of that dryer that haunts me.

It's that lint trap. I normally clean it before and after I dry my clothes. But over time, I’ve noticed that ‘others’ do not subscribe to the same procedures. Empirical evidence suggests that ‘others’ remove the lint only before drying their clothes. 

After realizing this, I decided this was quite unfair. As a result, I resolved that I too would become a one-and-done participant. That will teach them. And so, with that mindset, I prepared to do laundry.

With the last turn of the drum, the final load was dry. All packed up and ready to go, my feet stuck to the floor. Perhaps this is the physical manifestation of guilt. At that moment, I hated guilt. Putting the hamper on the floor, I grabbed a paper towel, emptied the trap (again), cleaned off the top of the dryer, and left.