When I was asked this yesterday, I answered quickly and naively, "my attitude." I went on to explain my attitude as an understanding of humanity. Had I given the question the respect it deserved, I would have recognized the questioner's desire to understand as the foundation for the question, rather than focused on my own desire to "get it right."
My answer would have looked something more along the lines of, "I understand the question to mean, what is my understanding of the seamless process of my house build with the county?" So, I will re-answer the question beginning with this line of thought.
I understand humanity as every living being, regardless of form, doing its absolute best in any given moment.
The government in place today today evolved from archaic, thousands of years old norms to promote the survival of the species. Currently, much of the world has access to the basics of food, water, and shelter, resulting in a clash between the governement's archaic agenda and the evolving needs of humanity.
Those individuals employed by the government, receive the brunt of the conflict, as they represent an agency with limited or no power to implement the policies. And they are doing the absolute best they can in any given moment.
In my dealings with the county, I understood that while I am submitting paperwork, the employees job's were a series of navigating that paperwork through obstacles, heirarchies, and power plays. Much akin to driving a baby strapped to the backseat of a bicycle with no food or water and one flat tire through the Amazon jungle, and communication only available every seven hundred miles at the government-mandated telephone booths. So, my only job was to supply as much information to get them both to the end of their journey alive and well. I found that any question from the county was easily resolved on my end with the recognition that I am learning and that every revision, clarification, or addition serves to broaden my perspective of the people working on my behalf. In any request from the county, the responsibility was always mine. This gave me all the power to change, adapt, and evolve with the experience and resulted in a smooth process.
Every person has good intentions. The only problem that arises with this statement is the misunderstanding that "every person" is someone other than me. There is no other. Given this understanding forms my behavior and inevitably my attitude. I am delusional to think this understanding comes from anything other constant monitoring of my thoughts, challenging my beliefs, and reflecting on my behavior.
We all do our best, but that looks like something different to each individual due of their own programming or history. Allowing those stories to play out as needed, curtails the need to set expectations for others to meet my needs, and rather shifts the focus appropriately to my own duty to self.
