"Open up and say AAaaaAhhHhh!!!~!~"

Perfection is not a concept that applies to humans. We tolerate one another's faults and annoying habits because they are only a small part of the total person.

A well-rounded person naturally has more than one side and it's not always possible to be viewed from the best side of our profile. No matter how diligently we stay on our guard, someone will catch us at a bad moment. Like the time someone took a photo of me blowing out candles on my birthday cake. I don't know how you look when you blow out candles, but this is how the camera caught me…… (Demonstration with puffed cheeks and eyes popping - Not a pretty sight.)

Now, I ask you, is that what I really look like? You bet it is! But only when I'm blowing out candles - for just a few seconds in a whole year. You know what that means? There are over 3 million seconds every year when I don't look like that!

Sometimes a bad impression is the first or even the only impression we have of someone. Years ago, a bus driver made a bad impression on me. I never saw him again, but I'll always remember how rude and impatient he was. Maybe he was a rude impatient man - or maybe he was really a nice man under a lot of stress and having a bad day.

It's so easy to make judgements based on one incident in a person's life without knowing why they are acting that way. Sometimes they are simply reacting to something that we are doing.

One of my friends once reacted like a baboon. She didn't throw anything at me; she just stopped talking to me. It took a long time for me to realize she was reacting to a well-meaning remark I had made. She thought I had a low opinion of her.

I can understand how she felt. I always react badly if I think someone has a low opinion of me. I find that I act differently with different people. When I am with friends who see me as a bright outgoing person, I seem to sparkle in their company, but if someone expects me to be dull and stupid, I usually don't disappoint them.

We are inclined to live up to the image of ourselves that we see reflected in another person's eyes. The positive people in our lives look past our shortcomings and see us as the person we should be. This helps us to become that person.

So if we look for the best in people they will usually respond by rising to meet our expectations.

Of course we'll always have some faults and annoying habits. It's all part of being human. But don't let the little things stop you from seeing the good side of people.