Most people think they'd love to be praised but do they always know how to handle it?

Right after that initial warm feeling of satisfaction, doubt rears its ugly head: "Was that person sincere in his praise? How do I know he really meant what he is saying? Or is there a secret agenda behind all that sugar and spice?"

Some of us are generous with their praising of others. And there are also those who question what kind of "data" the praisers actually have to declare that such and such a person is "intelligent" and "kind" and "beautiful" etc. It is almost like their personal integrity is questioned.

What's perhaps not very clear is the background of goodwill from which the most heartfelt praises always emanate. With their fragrant words of kindness, the generous ones address a world that they'd love to see exist one day, even if it's not the one that really exists "out there today." That's why when they call a person "intelligent," whether that person is really as smart as Einstein today does not matter for them as much as whether they'd love to see him become as smart as Einstein one day.

Their praise of the wise ones is not a status report but a song of love. When they approach another human being with all the kind words they can muster, they are not filling in the blank fields in a resume but they are honoring the world, our world, this whole planet that belongs to all of us, by depicting a picture of potentiality that might only be half true so far.

But with their goodwill they are always confident that they are nudging the world ever so gently in a direction of goodness and harmony rather than blocking our common path with negative remarks delivered with a blowtorch, all in the name of "reality."

Praising another human being is a supreme act of faith because it starts from our own pure but limited goodwill and stretches out there to a dazzling spectrum of fantastic possibilities in the far distance, even though we or that other person might only be one tenth of the way there yet.

It's better to flash an "unreasonable" beam of light on a path that leads to love than subscribe to the narrow black hole leading to a bone-dry heart in the name of "accuracy" and "realism."

Be generous in your praise of others. One day they may surprise you by becoming the person you told them they were a long time ago.