“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. “- Mahatma Ghandi

We, including myself, tend to envision perfect people that we want to interact and have in our lives. Our thoughts of the perfect friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, teacher, coach, etc sometimes lead us to think that no one on this earth could fulfil the qualifications we set. This perfect person we have in the back of our mind makes us see the negative characteristics rather than the exceptional parts of a person. Everyone has flaws but everyone also has goodness in their hearts. The truth holds, no one is perfect but we all can strive to be the best person possible.

My ‘perfect person’ always has compassion for others and brings happiness to every situation. Rather than searching for this perfect person, I realized I need to work to develop those characteristics in myself. If I desire a helpful, kind person, why can’t I become a helpful, kind person? Once people see righteousness in a person, they suddenly want to be as righteous because the benevolent person they see shows them the possibility of changing the world, even in the smallest way. Kindness is a chain reaction. A good deed makes the receiver want to give to someone else. Why not start the chain reaction and show love every moment? Many people see the bad happenings in the world and give up on humanity. Rather than giving up, we all need to become the person we want others to become. The perfect person we desire resides in our hearts and the best chance of that person becoming a reality is whether we decide to live through the person we think we need the most. We all need compassionate, helpful, kind, generous, and gentle people in our lives, so let’s become those individuals.

“When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of life. But when they are unhealthy, your body is also full of darkness” (Luke 11: 34-35). I interpret this verse as the following: if we attempt to see the good in everyone and everything, despite their wrongs, we will be full of light and happiness. We all have faults and vices, but once we overcome the wrongs of ourselves and others, light will shine throughout the earth. The perfect person we envision should not narrow our lens but serve as an internal motivator to become the person we wish others were. The person we want in others should make us search for those characteristics in every person we meet, because we might be surprised at the good we find.

So next time you catch yourself thinking, “I wish I had a friend who truly looked out for my well-being and helped me during tough times,” let that desire not lessen the magnificence of humankind but increase the love in our hearts.