Underestimating people

The older I get and the more I grow up, the more I get to know people, the more I really value the people in my life, the more I come to conclusion that I and all of us generally far underestimate the people in our lives, not overestimate them.

Especially as adults, I think we become scared, when people disappoint us, that the world is full of danger and people are not worthy of our trust.

But the older I get, the more I get to know people, the more I appreciate that most people really are doing their best, even when their best seems kind of lousy. Most people want to be challenged to be better, in my experience, as long as they can be respected for who they are, what they think, how they feel, and the unique person they are.

It's one of the most incredible opportunities that teaching offers me: the opportunity to get to know the unique and richly layered individuals that most people are, even when they aren't always making the choices that others might approve of or appreciate.

Most of the time we underestimate ourselves and one another, not overestimate one another. It's a shame.

Because there is so much goodness out there in the world.