Qualities in people
This is what a sage focuses on
October 26th 2014
How much damage is done every day as a result of the deplorable tendency of always finding something negative to gossip about in others! And newspapers, the radio and the television only amplify this tendency. What pleasure can there be in focusing so much on what is ridiculous, stupid or nasty? How can it be of interest to dig about in people’s personal lives in search of shocking details and then to disclose them for public amusement? It may seem of no importance, but it is an increasing tendency, and in the end it undermines a society, because it rubs off on the whole population. People vie to point out details, which they then exaggerate or distort, choosing the cruellest words to spread their gossip. Everyone has something reprehensible or ridiculous about them – that is nothing new – but why dwell on it at length? Society will not be any better for it.
A sage tries to have a different attitude. He is not blind; he is even very lucid, and is also capable of criticizing and making fun, but he considers that the most important thing about people is their qualities and their virtues. So these are what he focuses on, and with this attitude he reinforces the good in other people and in himself. By working in this way, he is being constructive.