You don’t have to agree with your family to love them. Perspective lets you hold both.

REFLECTION

WHAT THIS MEANS

Agreement and attachment are separate systems, though most arguments at home proceed as though they are one. You can think a relative is wrong about something that matters and still want them at your table for thirty more years. The pressure to resolve that tension, by converting them or writing them off, is where a lot of families break. Nothing requires you to pick.

In the next disagreement, decide in advance what you are willing to lose over it. Usually the honest answer is nothing. Say your view once, clearly, and then let the conversation be over rather than winning it.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Can you love family you disagree with sharply?

MORE IN MEANING & PERSPECTIVE

Free, with nothing to buy inside it.