Something About Tolerance

In my expansion of understanding of myself, others, and life in general, I have recently been focused on one word that seems to be most applicable to my viewpoint: tolerance. According to dictionary.com, tolerance is "a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry."

I am applying this to my current project, which is a documentary film about substance abuse treatment philosophies not based on the traditional 12 step model or the disease theory of addiction.

As a result of seeing a reciprocation of this approach, I've found myself applying it to other areas of life as well, and can directly see the positive results. To me, tolerance in relationship building (or repairing) is about finding common ground, or points of agreement, to then build on. This creates a shift away from disagreement and a breakdown in an ability to sanely communicate and instead moves toward a desire to work in accordance with toward a shared goal. I strongly recommend others trying this and see what benefits they have in their life as well.