Life is tough. Most weeks come with their share of issues. From a tiny aggravation to an enormous problem.

Human beings have been trying to find ways to accept it since... well, probably since around the time our species began to exist. 

We have healthy and unhealthy ways to cope. Periods when it's easier to accept that life is made of these challenges and periods when we struggle.

But quasi-universally, we think that our situation is unique. We are the only ones with ongoing problems and shit to deal with.

That's obviously not true. And you and I know it perfectly well if we zoom out for an instant. We recognize that others also struggle. The rich and the poor. The young and the old. This man and that woman.

The problems in someone's life can also spill out into our lives. The angry driver who cuts you off shortly after you overcome him might just have had a fight with her boss. The condescending waiter could be dealing with some childhood trauma.

Until they become young adults, our kids won't have the reflex of zooming out to acknowledge that everybody struggles. We need to help them do that.

Without explaining every bad behavior away, when we remind our kids that everybody has problems, we teach them compassion.