When you see the suffering inside yourself, you can see the suffering in the other person, and you can see your part, your responsibility, in creatin… - Thích Nhất Hạnh

Other people’s actions are the result of their own pain and not the result of any intention to hurt you.

Breathing in, I am aware of my heart. Breathing out, I smile to my heart. I vow to eat, drink, and work in ways that preserve my health and well-being.

Very often in a conflict, we believe the problem is the other person or group. We think it is all their fault and that if they would just stop doing what they are doing or being the way they are, we would have peace and happiness. So we may be motivated by the desire to destroy the other side. We may wish they didn’t exist. But looking deeply, we know that we are not the only ones who have suffered — they have also suffered. When we take time to calm ourselves down and look deeply into the situation, we can see that we are co-responsible, that we have co-created the conflict by our way of thinking, acting, or speaking, either individually or as a group or nation.