My Mother Taught Me The 2 Reasons Why We Should Have Hope In People

Years ago, I was enraged with an incident in which a close friend was placed under duress, and I was the only up-stander. That further angered me. Noticing my tension, my mother asked me to share that experience with her.

After hearing what happened and my abysmal disappointment with people, she invoked me on 2 questions. She challenged, “show me a person who will declare ‘I want to be a failure.’”, and continued, “bring me a person who will assert ‘I want everyone to hate me.’”

“That is stupid”, I protested, “no one will ever say that”. Then I realized it was too late … I had walked into her rhetoric trap again …

“That’s right. Everyone wants to succeed, no one wants to be a failure.”, she replied and continued to affirm, “Everyone wants to be loved, no one wants to be hated.”

My heart and my mind was hardened with rage and indignation, but I could not fight back her reasoning. My silence was a wordless admittance that she is right.

“They are not bad. Therefore, no one wants to be bad. They can’t get what they thought they wanted, so they resorted to underhanded means to get the reward and attention they thought they needed. They are just confused. Help them”, she said.

“I need a walk”, I announced and left the house feeling defeated in the argument.

That dialogue stayed with me. It shaped who I have become. I am more empathetic and…