Perhaps it is a matter of personal standards, but sometimes I feel that it is better to keep everything (including people) at a distance and watch them from afar. When one does that, one would often find the world a better place and the people around nicer people.

I dont know about others but I find that I'm inclined to give the people I dont know personally the benefit of the doubt and think of them as nice people untill they prove me wrong. So if I don't know them better I will never see the flaws and perhaps that way I will think of them as nice people for the rest of my life. I think this has something to do with the saying that the grass on the other side is always greener too. Picture this: Two mothers having tea in a cafe are discussing their children's achievement. A's son is a doctor and B's is a clerk in a trading firm. A will always think that B's son is better because he has time to have dinner with B. B on the other hand will wish that her son was a professional like A's son. My point is that basically as long as a person or an object becomes closely linked to a person, that person will start to pick on the flaws of that object.

"From a Distance" is a song that illustrates my point I think. Anyway, I just thought the song is pretty nice and the version I picked is the one by Bette Midler

Here are the lyrics.

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
And the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
And the eagle takes to flight.

From a distance, there is harmony,
And it echoes through the land.
It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace,
It’s the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
And no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
No hungry mouths to feed.
From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
They’re the songs of every man.

God is watching us.
God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

From a distance you look like my friend,
Even though we are at war.
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting is for.
From a distance there is harmony,
And it echoes through the land.

And it’s the hope of hopes,
it’s the love of loves,
It’s the heart of every man.
It’s the hope of hopes, it’s the love of loves.
This is the song of every man.

And God is watching us,
God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance.