We would worry less about what others think of us if we knew how seldom they do.
(Ethel Barrett)
This quote from Ethel Barrett invites us to be less influenced by what we think others think, because, truth be known, they don't, at least not about us. I love this quote because it offers me freedom to be me, unclouded by my perception of others. However, this also puts the others in a somewhat unfavorable light. Why don't they think about us? Are they against us? For us? Do they not care?
And, exactly who are the others, anyway? Should we care about them?
To figure that out, imagine you are in a room of 100 people. That means 99 people are not thinking about you. Those are the others. But that also means, to those other 99 people, you are not thinking about them. So, you are also the others We all are others!
I don't know about you, but I don't mind being me, I just don't want to be the others in Ethel Barrett's quote. I want to think about you, to care about you, to wish for your best, to hope for your well being, to appreciate your quirks, to share where our lives overlap.
I don't want others to worry about what I think of them. I just want them to know that I do.