The steam rising from my coffee cup mirrored the steam rising from my bad attitude.
“I just can’t believe she’d say something like that,” I fumed. “What in the heck is wrong with people?”
“Yeah,” my friend commiserated, “but you have to remember: not everybody is the same kind of strange as us.”
(insert the sound an angel choir makes when you have an epiphany)
We’re all a little strange
I’ve repeated those wise words hundreds of times over the years, especially when my children were younger. When friends hurt their feelings or they had a personality conflict with a teacher, it was a good reminder that we’re all a little weird in our own ways.
Psychologists attest to our individual weirdness in their observations of human behavior and thought processing. The different personality types are fascinating:
- Sanguine – happy and outgoing, the life of the party.
- Choleric – in control (aka bossy) and forthright, a bottom-line person.
- Melancholic – introverted and cautious, who usually sees the glass half-empty.
- Phlegmatic – easy-going and unconfrontational, someone who plays well with others.
The Myers-Briggs breakdown digs deeper with their 16 personality types. If you’ve never taken a personality assessment, this quick and easy (and FREE) test is enlightening: the 16 Personalities assessment.
Not only do we have different temperaments and personalities, but we also have different intellects, histories and perspectives. It’s no wonder we become frustrated in our dealings with people.
Yet we’re called to be kind and compassionate with each other, humble, bearing with one another and forgiving each other (Ephesians 4:32). It can be a tough pill to swallow when we expect everyone to think and act as we do. But it’s a little easier when we remember that we’re all a little bit strange.
C. S. Lewis must have understood this, in his own super-studious (and strange) way when he penned,
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another,
‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
Life becomes freer when we remember that not everyone is the same kind of strange as us. Life becomes more fun when we find that tribe of friends who ARE the same kind of strange.
Image Credits: Pixabay
I LOVE this post, Susan! Thank you for sharing it!