I was rummaging through some old papers my mother sent me, and ran across a clipping of this old quote by Robert Louis Stevenson.

I wonder how much different the world would be if we all made the effort to look past others’ faults and simply tried to look for their best.

As I gave time this past week, I saw some of the best in others …

• I saw dozens of other people picking up trash with our family at the great Oregon beach cleanup.
  
• I saw dedicated volunteers and staff work another blood drive by the Red Cross so that my blood might one day save a life.
• I saw volunteer judges and organizers running the Intel Northwest Regional Science Fair so my son and 200 hundred other high school kids could show their ideas.
• I saw teachers give extra time so that I could understand how best to help my daughter with her homework.
• I remembered how much my mother, and her mother, gave to their families while I wrote my mother a few letters.
• I saw the dedication of fellow Toastmasters who met with me in their spare time to find ways to give more to our fellow members of Feedbackers Toastmasters.
• I also saw people not giving their best, or taking only for themselves. … A reminder that I can look harder to find their best.