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Every person is saintly

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It is 302am and I have decided to write. I came across this phrase today and I quite like it. Every person is saintly. It reminds me of what I have pinned on my twitter profile, "Whoever looks for the good qualities in others will acquire all good qualities within himself" - Habib Umar Bin Hafiz. I like seeing the good in others or at least I try my best to. I also think there is truth to another phrase, I am what you think I am. My friend Chatty says that we do not just recognize saints, sometimes, we help make them. And recognising that everyone is saintly is the beginning of creating the type of people we want in the society we want.

My friend Chatty tells me that "I am what you think I am" is not a single famous quote but an idea that runs through thinkers like Charles Horton Cooley and Jean-Paul Sartre: our sense of self is shaped by how we believe others see us. Through the "looking-glass self", the gaze of the other, and even self-fulfilling prophecy, perception becomes formative rather than passive. In that light, how we see people is not neutral—it participates in who they become, which is why choosing to see the good is quietly transformative.

The synthesis of Habib Umar’s wisdom and the "looking-glass self" suggests that our perception is not a passive camera, but an active sculpting tool. When we choose to see the "saintly" in another person, we are not just identifying a hidden truth; we are participating in its creation. Because our sense of self is shaped by how we believe others see us, our gaze acts as a transformative mirror. By reflecting back a person’s potential for goodness rather than their flaws, we provide them with the psychological space to inhabit that higher version of themselves, effectively making "saints" through the power of recognition.

This process creates a profound "virtuous cycle" that transforms both the observer and the observed. As Habib Umar notes, hunting for virtue in others cultivates those same qualities within our own hearts, polishing our character even as we attempt to uplift someone else's. In this light, seeing the good is a radical act of social architecture. It suggests that a more compassionate society does not only need policy, but also the "holy stubbornness" of individuals who refuse to see the world as broken, choosing instead to call forth the saintliness in everyone they encounter.
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