Kindness in the Midst of Disagreement

One bleary-eyed morning, I made my way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. As I reached in for one of my favorite extra-large mugs, my husband said, “Why don’t you get rid of some of those soup bowl coffee cups?” “But I love them,” I protested. “They’re always in my way,” he huffed.

At first, I was completely irritated. How dare he pick on my coffee cups? Doesn’t he know I use them every day? And sure, they’re large, but there are only a few of them. Ugh! I let this bit of unpleasantness stew for a while, and then I thought about my husband. He typically wakes before me. He gets the dog settled. Makes his breakfast. Goes to work. If rearranging the coffee mugs makes his morning start out just a little bit better, wouldn’t that be the kind thing to do?

So while he was at work, I organized the cabinet. When he came home, I showed him and told him I'd thought about what he said. While I wasn't going to get rid of my “soup mugs,” I did want to make his mornings easier.  

The coffee mug situation reminds me that kindness requires a little give-and-take. Whether your situation is as simple as sorting a cabinet to make your partner's morning better, or as complex as digging deeper to find solutions, I hope you'll approach disagreements with kindness.