I recently attempted to reach out to someone I thought could use a friend and, in a roundabout way, was very much rejected.
Granted, it’s a bit of an odd situation and I can understand why this person would be hesitant to accept my friendship. What I have trouble understanding is the initial assumption of malicious intent.
Which leads me to think and question, “Why do we not give people the benefit of the doubt? Why do we not look for the good in people? Why do we not believe that people are inherently kind?”
This is often where I slap the “naive” label on myself, but maybe I should be more gracious and call it “faith in humanity”.
I was honestly quite shocked and hurt by this person thinking I was trying to be anything but genuine and kind because my thought process does not include “malicious intent”. Until someone proves otherwise, I assume people are kind.
I may wear my heart on my sleeve more than I should, I may not guard my heart against hurt as strongly as I should, and I may give people the benefit of the doubt more often than I should… but I’m not willing to change those things. I want to be approachable to others, I want to be a kind person with a good heart, and I want to continue seeing the best in people.
If there’s anything I have learned in the past six months, as I have struggled more than any other time in my life, it’s that people are kind.
When I shared the news of my divorce on social media, I was blown away by the messages of kindness and understanding I received from complete strangers. These ‘strangers’ successfully made me feel less alone in my time of struggle and sadness.
I’ll always be grateful for the kindness of strangers. And I’ll always strive to pass that kindness on.
“Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
-Mark Twain
