Difficult People

"Those that are hardest to love are those that need it the most." 
 -Dan Millman

I don't know about you, but I tend to stay away from difficult people. Even as the above quote suggests, difficult people are hard to love. What makes them difficult is they tend to be onerous, cantankerous, argumentative, frequently ill-mannered, sometimes insulting, and oftentimes sour in disposition. They are difficult to love  at those times. No doubt, they may have endearing qualities, but if they keep their light under a bushel, or are otherwise unengageable, or unkind in one way or another, then they are inviting alienation, though they may not realize it. Those people want to be loved in spite of themselves. It is ironic that the more bitter and unhappy their demeanor, the more they need love. Now, "love" does not mean laying down your soul to be trampled on by these negative folks. But it does reveal the extent of their unhappiness, because it is their inner unhappiness that produces and exacerbates their behavior. If they were happy to begin with, they would find it easy to smile and overlook petty aggravations. So it is this deep-seated unhappiness, this insecurity, that makes them behave in an unattractive way that is so difficult to love. But love is what they need. Even if it means loving them from afar. And love sometimes means staying away.