“What we see
depends mainly on
what we look for.” 
John Lubbock

Look for the good… A pleasant phrase, for sure, but what exactly does it mean?

Let’s begin with looking for the good in the people we know: family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and others we may encounter on a consistent basis. It seems that the faults and failings of others are easy for us to see. What might happen if we made a conscientious effort to intentionally look for the good in these individuals?

Throughout each day, we also encounter people we do not know: cashiers at stores, servers in restaurants, other patrons of shops and eateries we visit, drivers with whom we share the roads, and people we pass on the street, to name just a few. Most often, we don’t pay much attention to these women and men unless something, most often something that bothers us, catches our attention. Then, much like our encounters with those we know, we notice their faults and failings. What if we made an effort to be particularly attentive to the good things these people do for us and for those around them?

Our environment is also something we often take for granted: our home, our place of work, stores and malls where we shop, or the neighborhood in which we live. It seems that we have a tendency to notice the negative aspects of these venues, too, while overlooking the good things these places have to offer us. What if…?

We encounter countless situations each day, many of which can cause us stress or irritation: driving on congested roadways, collaborating with difficult colleagues, and waiting in lines at the bank, the grocery store, or the snack bar at a high school athletic event. Such experiences can be tedious and annoying. What if, while dealing with such situations, we consciously pause to look around and notice the good that people are doing around us, rather than focusing on those things that bother us? 

From time to time, we all experience times of crisis: a medical emergency, an auto accident, the death of a loved one, a fracture in a relationship,… This list could go on forever. What if, instead of allowing these crises to overwhelm us with stress and negativity, we recall the fact that in the Chinese language, the word “crisis,” as we understand it in English, requires two characters, each of which has its own stand-alone meaning. One character means “danger.” No surprise there. The other character, however, offers a much more optimistic outlook on the situation. This character means “opportunity.” 

Finally, how we see and understand ourselves is crucial to how we see and interact with others. For this reason, it would be prudent to make self-care, self-acceptance, self-forgiveness, and self-love a top priority in our lives. All too often, we are harder on ourselves than anyone else we encounter in our day-to-day activities. Being kind to ourselves is a prerequisite to caring effectively for others. 

With all that said, a person of faith might elect to see life from a slightly different perspective. Instead of simply looking for the good in all these people and situations, we might intentionally look for the presence of God in all things. Seeing the world around us in this way changes everything.