People Are Great!

December 5th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments

People are great!

If I had believed what everyone said about the way life “is” instead of listening to my own experience, I probably couldn’t say people are great.

In almost 50 years of life, I’ve directly felt the effects of the Vietnam War from my father, survived a family divorce, lived through a tornado, gave birth and raised two children, and helped my mother with cancer and assisted in her dying and death process, just to name a few of many significant events. Life by no means has been easy. Yet my track record shows resilience, success, and experience. I’ve started more than one business and am a community leader. Interestingly enough, people consider that I’m naive because I’m still open to life and see the good in people. I’m not naive … and I am OPEN to the inspiration that life offers at every turn.

People ask me how I stay open when everyone knows how tough life really is. I tell them I’ve come to a realization that people are equal parts great and foolish, and it simply comes down to choosing one’s focus on others. I’m amazed as I watch my daughter go through high school amid a culture of gossip, looking good, and two-faced behavior. I find that as a parent I’m given constant invitations to step into teen land and banter. Business, media and politics look like sophisticated versions of this same culture. But here’s the thing … not all of it is. In fact, a lot of it isn’t. It simply requires shifting one’s focus to see a whole other side to people. Because people are great.

I recently came across a study that identified a human need to assist or help others (to really explore this feel free to read the article). Fundamentally it appears that humans are social creatures whose biology is more giving than previously thought.

Personally, I’ve watched people’s magnificence come through time and again. This was evident when my mother was dying of cancer. All of my friends were incredibly supportive and emotionally available. But the real heroes for me were the hospital staff and the hospice workers. I kept saying that they were angels. I’ve found a video that captures this experience. It was made with employees of a hospital who wanted to raise awareness of breast cancer. They made the video to express their commitment to humanity.

I invite you to shift your focus today to a person in your life. It could be the person who does deliveries, makes your coffee, educates your children or a member of your family. See the greatness in them and something extraordinary will happen.

Here’s a hint: Your own view of yourself will change …

People are great.

That means you!