There are many techniques in meditation to help develop a sense of loving kindness, of self compassion which in turn can ripple out into the world around us. Many times, we can lose track of the fact that we would give someone else the benefit of the doubt in a particular situation but not ourselves. Perhaps we are on autopilot or even when giving a situation our full attention, we can make mistakes. Yet our real desire is for happiness, and we’re trying to find our way there — we don’t purposely make a misstep. And really, the same goes for everyone around us: extended family members, our peers and colleagues, a hassled clerk or waitress, and certainly our children. Even when we completely disagree with others or how they are acting, their intent is still happiness.