I am sure we all have done something at one point in our lives or another that has hurt another individual but that wasn't the original intention behind the action. So what do you do to make the situation better? Honestly there may not be anything that you can do. The damage is done, the person's feeling are hurt, they feel betrayed, and their fragile trust has been injured or possibly even broken. So how do you proceed and act? The simple answer here is you might have to abide by their wishes and take a break from them and the situation for a little while. Give them a chance for the wounds to heal before you try and approach them again. Because no matter what you do or say to mend the situation may just probably end up making it a lot worse. I am sure that we have addressed something along these lines before. Remember when a person is feeling hurt and vulnerable nothing you say or can do is ever going to be heard by that person. They are so focused on the pain of the incident that the extraneous information you are trying to rationalize or justify the action with is lost totally on them and they don't care. All they feel is the slight and hurt that has wounded them.
In most cases like this one I would say that time the great equalizer is what is going to either lessen the pain enough for them to be able to talk to you about it, or gives them enough room that allows them to heal and re-evaluate the situation. However, keep in mind that some wounds might never heal totally. They maybe scabbed over, and you coming around them might cause that to rip off and them once again to feel the pain and sting of the original incident. Give the other person as much time and space as they need to heal and let them come back to you on their terms. We all know how if a wound doesn't heal properly it can become infected and might cause greater complications down the road. Word wounds can be just like that they can linger, and if they are left to fest or are continually irritated they can spread and cause a person to build up resentment and anger, and lash out at you at inappropriate times. Let the other person heal, let them assess the damage done and let them decide if they can take the risk of coming back around you.
I know this is hard, you have a burning desire to make the situation better right away, you want to go in and explain yourself, defend your actions and prove that you meant no harm, that something was misinterpreted that your intentions were pure, but it isn't about you any longer. It is about them and the hurt they are feeling or the perceived injury they have experienced and was caused by you. As I have said earlier trust is a very fragile thing, it is something that is built up between two people over time, and if it is hurt or injured in someway, it may never fully recover or heal. Trust is not something that just happens, it take time and energy to nurture and grow. So be very careful with it, treat it right and it will surprise you at it tenacity and capacity to forgive once the injured party has time to process and reflect on what has happened. Time is the only true cure that can help someone. Plus, you have to keep in mind that they might have been hurt like this before by someone else and your action caused an old wound to reopen, they might be dealing with that on top of the hurt that you unintentionally inflicted upon them.
Scars are funny things, they are not always visible but are always there, they are carried around and can reopen at any time. Scars become a part of a person, some are seen, some are not. They are what a person has gone through in their past and it has become a part of them. When you except a person as a friend or more, you get the whole person, the good, the bad, the hurt, the scars, the baggage of the past, and only through exploration can you begin to discover how deep these old hurts and scars maybe. You just have to be careful and be frugal with your heart and trust. It can be easily be betrayed without it ever meaning too. But you also need to give the other person the benefit of the doubt. They may not know you all that well, couldn't possibly have any idea of what you have been through or are going through. Their actions might have seemed harmless to them, but caused you a great deal of hurt. Sometimes, in the thick of things words are spoken that weren't meant. You may have to take sometime and divorce your emotions from the situation and come at it from a purely logical standpoint and truly assess the intentions of the individual. Don't through a good friendship away on a simple mistake.
Both sides need to take time and heal. Both parties need to understand that the other person made a mistake that was all and no harm was intended . No matter which side you are on, take the time to calmly and logically review the situation and make amends. Don't let anger and resentment fester within, get it all out in the open, express how you feel and then, revisit the situation once everything has died down and you can come at it from a logical standpoint. Life is too short to stay angry or hurt at a person you regard as a friend. Take all the time you need, but I encourage you to reassess the situation, look at the damage that is done, and make amends. No one is so important that they can't have more friends, and life is way too short and delicate to be angry at someone that truly meant no harm and didn't know that their actions were going to cause you pain.
Those of you who know me know that I don't have a mean bone in my body, I don't hide or harbor malice in my heart, and if my actions have caused someone else pain, then I am the type of person to try and make amends, try to heal the breach, and repair the damage that has been done, but sometimes it is out of our hands and we have to let nature, time and God work out the issue for us. Because nothing I do or say would make the situation any better and could possibly and quite probably make the situation worse I have to walk away and let time and God heal the wound.
Please keep this in mind, we cannot undo those things in the past, we can only learn and grow from the mistakes we make. The lessons that we learn through loss and pain are the ones that stick with us forever. Be honest with yourself and you will be true to your heart. You know that each of us is human and that we all make mistakes and fall. But handle that fall with grace and dignity, lift your head and get up again. Keep going don't give up. Don't fall prey to depression, guilt and anger, because you know in your heart that harm or malice was never intended and the other party will learn that in time too.
As always my hopes and dreams are with you,
Uncle B
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