Valuing those we meet

What would happen if you made a practice of valuing every person you meet? You would open yourself up to unexpected enlightenment, wouldn't you? Unexpected Enlightenment is the title of a little article that I want to recommend today. Here's an excerpt:

Our individual journeys take us into many unexpected situations where we encounter a wide variety of people-some quite like ourselves and some very different. We cannot anticipate these meetings, but we can make the most of them when they take place. When we are courteous as a matter of course and open-minded in our assessment of the individuals whose lives briefly touch our own, we are more apt to stumble upon surprising gems of wisdom that open our eyes to new worlds of possibility. Every person we meet can affect us profoundly, just as every situation we find ourselves in can teach us something new.
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When we are cognizant of the potential for unexpected enlightenment, we make a habit of turning strangers into friends, thus ensuring that we are never without a font of wisdom from which to draw.

It's easy to go through the day taking people for granted. Simply paying attention is the key to interrupting that habitual tendency. Opportunities are all around us. We simply need to open our eyes - and our hearts.