Looking For The Go(o)d In Everyone.
“Walk cheerfully over the earth answering that of God in everyone”, was a simple statement written by one of the founders of Quakerism George Fox. In the book “Insights On Leadership”, Richard P. Nielsen uses this quote from Fox in the chapter he wrote titled “Quaker Foundations for Greenleaf’s Servant-Leadership and “Friendly Disentangling” Method”, to discuss the importance of looking for the “Go(o)d” in everyone.
Too often it becomes easy to avoid looking for the good in others, and instead to focus on the “bad”. It has been my own experience that when I focus on the bad, I fail to give others a fair hearing. It is the realization that there is good in all people despite their religious, political, social, or other believes that is the great equalizer of us all. Nielsen asks the question “Do we start from what we have in common that is good, or do we start from what is not so good and from how we differ?” The answer that makes the most sense is the first choice. So as we move into a New Year, looking for the “Go(o)d” in everyone is indeed an excellent resolution to follow.
Too often it becomes easy to avoid looking for the good in others, and instead to focus on the “bad”. It has been my own experience that when I focus on the bad, I fail to give others a fair hearing. It is the realization that there is good in all people despite their religious, political, social, or other believes that is the great equalizer of us all. Nielsen asks the question “Do we start from what we have in common that is good, or do we start from what is not so good and from how we differ?” The answer that makes the most sense is the first choice. So as we move into a New Year, looking for the “Go(o)d” in everyone is indeed an excellent resolution to follow.
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