Controlling other people...

One thing that I think my mom helped me learn was that it is wrong to try to control other people. I remember spending time as a kid getting upset and wondering why my friends would occaisionally choose things to do that was not what I wanted them to do or expected them to be doing. Mom would explain that the best thing to do is let them make their own decisions and let it go. Most things happen for a reason - chances are, I would get to spend time with that friend again soon, and whatever was done to upset me would be ancient history.

I look at people around me now and think about how much better it would be if more people learned that lesson. Especially couples - every person is trying to control the other, trying to force him/her to do what is wanted. I try to treat people the way that I want to be treated, so I try to give people a lot of space to make their own decisions and go on from there. After all, it's even worse to be the person who is getting controlled than to be the person who for whatever reason, thinks you need to be controlled.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense to someone out there...