Take a random sample of family households throughout NZ or the world and chances are all of them will have seen, between family members, serious arguments leading to shouting and insults or a quiet angry seething. This is nothing new, it is a part of our constant growth and learning about ourselves and others, and how we co-exist.
I guess the tricky thing is, how do we offer the best example (of getting along with each other) to our young family members when, as adults we are still learning many of these lessons ourselves?
As adults we have a duty to provide love, care, compassion, patience, and peace for the young ones in our household and extended families. For without this example within our whanau, how will the best of human being, and relating, be encouraged in the next generations? And how can the best of humanity be strengthened in the world of today and tomorrow?
The good news is that we don’t have to be a perfect example in order to be a great example! Our fallings and our failings in creating harmonious coexistence with others can be just as useful in promoting peace if we are truly honest in the aftermath. Perfection is impossible and therefore the lessons involving ownership of our part in the breakdown, of forgiving others their part, and of seeking a way forward. It is fundamental to a healthy co-existence that we are able to apologise for our hurtful outbursts, own up to our faults and seek to change them, and allow the space for others to do the same.