Gifts And Faults

If I want to stay connected to someone, I try to look at their gifts, rather than any faults or character defects they may have.  Unfortunately, this is work for me because I can tend to easily see faults but miss the gifts.  Maybe that is why I have so few friends?  Say it isn't so.  But if you want no friends, notice faults, verbalize criticism, or act critically, and you will create the desired distance.  We all have faults, priests less so than others, of course, so why focus on them.  Will they go away?  None of your business.  It might be their achilles heal to keep them humble.  Do unto others about faults.  Instead, I try to point out and celebrate a person's gifts.  I don't wait for them to agree.  Some people are simply very hard on themselves.  I try to be a "second opinion" in these cases.  All of us from time to time need second opinions because we focus too much on our own faults.  Some focus yes, for efforts to improve,  But too much focus is an ego trip.  "I should be better."  Enjoy being human, frustrating as it can be.  Pray for a friend who celebrates you and gives you a second opinion of your incredible self.