so many levels of meaning

The quote of the day is by Camus: "Don't wait for the Last Judgement. It takes place every day."

I like thinking about psychology. Not only do I like it, but it seems to be a pretty important part of life. The better you understand the people around you, not to mention yourself--what they feel, how they express it, and why they do what they do--the better you can relate to and interact with the world.

However, it's rarely easy.

There always seems to be at least two interpretations for things--one positive and one negative. People sometimes say one thing and mean another. Or they say what they mean but then do something different. Or they do what they mean and the results end up going in some unpredictable direction. Look, this is what I mean.

Is it real confidence or snooty defensiveness?
If you're butting heads with someone, is it because they are blind or just coming from a different point of view?
Was my semester just a bunch of erratic mood swings or a legitimately turbulent process of growth?
Is it genuine or just to get attention?
And the scariest of them all: is it love or manipulation?
To quote something that gets quoted too much: Can it be both?

You always have to wonder because you don't want to be tricked. But you also have to wonder how much of it is all in the way you phrase it. You can always say, "Oh, he's just trying to make himself look good so people will like him," or "She's just doing that to get attention." But how can you really blame anyone for that? Isn't that what we're all looking for in life anyway? We're all longing for love and acceptance.

Really, it's not people's motives that are the problem but the way they pursue them. Some people are good at it. Some people are tricky. Some people are very misguided. Some people are nasty. Some people are lazy. Some people have the best intentions but are clueless. Do some people even lose sight of that goal entirely and fight in the opposite direction?

However, this is not to say that any of it is relative. There is a right and a wrong. They are two different things. It's just that so often they get thrown together in a blender. Nobody is completely good or completely evil. You aren't, whether you like it or not, and so extend the same understanding to everyone else.
I know... it's hard.
And understanding is nice, but striving for perfection is better...