Remember the scripture about the beam and the mote? While we're being critical of others for the tiny faults they exhibit, we're completely missing the huge problems we need to fix in our own lives? I had a recent aha moment...
I've been studying a class for work (I'm certifying to train it) called "Crucial Conversations". This training is all about sitting down and calmly talking about the "elephant in the room" things that are keeping us from making progress.
This isn't the first communication class that I've taken--far from it. As I sat back watching a recent "conversation" (read: argument) between two people, I was mentally reviewing the tactics that would make the conversation better. Smugly, I considered how the two people involved "just needed to..." when I remembered a similar conversation I had recently had. A VERY similar conversation. When I had made several similar mistakes. I think sometimes we have to see the mote in another's eye to even begin wondering if we HAVE a mote or a beam in our own eye. The trick isn't noticing the mote--that's easy. The trick is looking BEYOND the mote, to the lesson WE need to learn.
Hmm--very profound. Good thing I'm the only one reading this blog.