True attainment is peace of soul. It is impossible to judge another person’s success or failure by the outward signs of their life’s circumstances — whether they are rich or poor, safe or at risk; these are superficial perceptions. We may accurately assess only our own progress, our own contentment. In our dealings with others we may have a sense of their joy, their confidence and emotional balance.
We should deal with every person we meet as if we were students, seeking to know the source of their contentment, or as teachers, whose responsibility it is to share the means by which we have attained our own measure of peace.
Nick Hilton - Reflections 