When we become excessively critical towards others, it means we are going in the wrong direction. We are usually very good at spotting mistakes, but we should develop the quality of also spotting goodness. If we can see what is good in others or in situations and go beyond the curtain of negativity, we would feel good about ourselves. If we constantly think “he/she is wrong”, we would instead create a barrier which blocks us from reaching our own goodness.

We have the power to tolerate anyone and any situation. But tolerance is not just suffering in silence. It means going beyond any personal discomfort we may feel, and giving a gift to whomever we would tolerate. Let us give our time, attention, understanding, compassion, care – all are gifts, which paradoxically, we also receive in the process of giving. And, as we do, we will experience our own self esteem and inner strength grow. In this way we can turn tolerance into strength. Here are some beautiful words of wisdom derived from the writings of Penney Schwab.
"Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. . . . ” (Philippians 4:8). When I heard that a former colleague had said something untrue about me, I exploded. I corrected the misinformation and ticked off a list of the woman’s offenses, growing angrier with each word.

At about number seven of the list, I paused for breath. It was then I remembered that Aunt Annie kept a list too: a Goodness File. Instead of dwelling on hurts, she chose to record the spirit-lifters she received through the years.

Her file began in April 1962, when she was sent to interview University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson. She was so nervous, she dropped her purse as she entered his office and watched in horror as the contents rolled under Wilkinson’s desk. Without saying a word, he crawled under it, retrieved everything and brushed off her apologies. “How good of you to come!” he said warmly. He then answered her questions fully and thoughtfully.

Aunt Annie recorded dozens of other incidents. She received a gift of pink peonies from a student who never spoke in class. An exhausted construction worker, coming off the night shift, gave her his seat on a crowded bus. “You have a full workday ahead of you, while I’m going home to rest,” he said. A postal clerk searched the lobby and even the sidewalk to find her missing earring.

I’ve started a Goodness File, too, and discovered that when I concentrate on people’s good points, their faults become much less irritating.

Help me to look for goodness, Lord, and to recognize it in everyone I meet.

 

No matter how bad people may seem, they possess at least one virtue. Be like the humming bird and pick out the sweetness of everyone’s character. ~~unknown