"Now, each of us has his own special gift
And you know this was meant to be true
And if you don't underestimate me
I won't underestimate you."
-- Bob Dylan, from Dear Landlord
Yesterday I was talking about reacting to people, and having negative emotions about them and how that was a common thing to do, yet it is not self-serving. The challenge is to not react and to instead find things to like about those who at first seem obviously unlikable.
It is another habit that many of us have had in underestimating people for a wide variety of reasons, whether it is their looks, their speech, their vocabulary, their excessive slang, or other surface things. The truth is that we are all so much more inside that we often show on the outside. Though it is easy to underestimate people sometimes, it is really more like the two ways to have the tallest building. Become known as a destroyer or a builder. The underestimator is a destroyer. They don't know any better.
I find the most fascinating things about people just asking them questions to know more about them. I might find that they are a painter, a poet, a musician, a volunteer to worthy organizations, a marathon runner, or that they have a doctorate in something I can't even spell.
People are like icebergs in that only about 10% of who they are is visible. There is so much more underneath and all are worthy of a better estimate than we might make seeing only with our eyes.
One thing that is helping me think better about this subject is the idea that we are all from the very same source and are all having a human experience together.
We Are All More Than We Appear, And All Worthy.
Spread Some Joy Today--Celebrate our sameness and differences at the same time.
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