Getting along with others

Well, we're home from our weekend away and we had a lovely time.  The Little Big Fella loved swimming in the pool every day, and playing on the beach with the Big Fella's younger cousins.  We had some great moments with my in-laws and it really felt like a holiday, not just a weekend.


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Over the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about getting along with others and dealing with conflict.  Sometimes people see things from such different perspectives that there really seems to be no middle ground.  Does that mean it's impossible for them to get along?


Then there are situations where there is a real misunderstanding of intentions or words or expectations.  Soap operas are full of these kinds of scenes!  But they happen so often in life and if we don't take the time to take a deep breath, slow down and check our understanding against the other person's intent, we can end up in World War III before we know it!


I'm basically a conflict-avoider and a peace-maker.  It's something I'm very aware of in my personality and I try really hard to remember that conflict is part of life.  It's really unhealthy to avoid it all the time!  But constant conflict is also unhealthy and can cause irreparable damage to relationships, often the key relationships in your life.


So how do we find a balance?  How much do we allow space (grace?) for others and their point of view, and where do we need to draw a line in the sand?  Where is the line between loving someone unconditionally, and condoning life choices that you completely disagree with?


There's so much hurt in the world, and generally the people who do the hurt (no doubt I'm also guilty of this somewhere along the line) believe they're in the right!  So how does humanity choose a standard?  I know what I was brought up to believe, but even in "religious" fields there is so much disparity!


I know this is fairly basic philosophical discussion, but sometimes the lofty ideas find hard earth to show up and show off.