"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship... It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit... This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously -- no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner -- no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment." --C. S. Lewis, From The Weight of Glory.

My sister posted this quote by C.S. Lewis on her blog. She was using it to help describe something else... But it served as a good reminder for me. I wish I lived my life this way. I wish I was less judgmental and more gracious with people I meet. I wish I could say I try to live this way, but I'm so far from it that to use the word 'try' would imply that I succeed sometimes.

Reading this quote, I think of my grandparents, my mom, and my little sisters. While not perfect, I think they do a good job of living like this. How come I didn't inherit that trait?? They make fast friends with allllll types of people everywhere and are quick to see the good in people...slooooow to see the 'negatives'. I put 'negatives' in quotes because I don't think these family members would call them negatives....I think they just see these traits as unique characteristics to love about that person. I hope that I can someday be as accepting, open and loving as my grandparents, mom and little sisters to all the people in my life...both strangers and non-strangers... Because every person is a precious soul.