So, what do you do?

[majutsukai]

What does someone who values harmony as highly as I do, do, in such a chaotic little world as this?

People don't always get along. It's a simple fact of reality. But I don't choose to be torn up by it. It's just... how I am. I can't function when someone I care about is mad at someone else I care about, or at me.

I try my damndest to help and patch things up where I can, but with every patch, two new leaks spring forth.

I can't fix things, but I can't be satisfied with them broken. So, what do you do?

Comments

[epynephrin.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, one of the things I've learned fastest is that there is no way to really control people. They can be manipulated, which is generally unappreciated, but they cannot be made to do anything.

What I do, when trapped between a rock and a hard place, is to let it be. Don't play favorites, don't choose a side. If one party starts talking negatively about the other, I don't let it slide--I casually remind them that I'm still friends with both sides, and that I don't want to tarnish either reputation, so they need to deal with that other person and not me.

It's not your fault, it's not your choice, it's got nothing to do with you, thus it is beyond your control. However, it's also not your responsibility, which means it's between them and them alone. Trying to stick your nose in it will only make it worse; you'll end up pushing one or potentially both away. It sounds callous, but it's not--self-preservation dictates that you leave it.