Judging
To judge or not to judge?
It is common to make natural comparisons, taller than, shorter than etc but hard core judging is different.
How many of us have never made a mistake or done something we regret?
"We are all guilty."
Nobody but you is responsible for your actions, decisions and behaviour in this life. We all have standards we have to live by and in reality none of us have all the answers on how to get it right every time. What works for you may not work for others so we have be open and flexible, never taking the higher ground. The world we live in today is all about what we have and not who we are, so anyone who thinks they are better than anyone else will never find true happiness.
If you met someone in the street who was homeless, smelly, drunk and desperate begging for help would you cross the road and ignore their plea justifying your behaviour by convincing yourself their situation had to be their own fault? If your true answer to this dilemma is yes, you have done this, you need to think again. We are all vulnerable and life is very fragile so anyone of us could find ourselves unexpectedly at the mercy of other human beings for help.
"Reflection not projection."
Projecting your opinion on others about someone or something you have no true understanding of makes you feel superior in the moment. We all think we know best when in reality we actually know very little in the bigger picture. If you want to feel good, be happy and have purpose, start recognising everyone and everything you encounter has as much right to be here as you. No one is better than anyone else regardless of how much money they have or not and to judge someone you don’t know based on their personal circumstances in the moment is unkind as well as ignorant, two qualities sure to make you an unpopular and thus miserable human being.
Gossiping and judging causes so much pain and unhappiness for those on the receiving end of it so working on this bad behaviour trait is something so essential in your quest for true happiness. So what if you don't like tattoos, blue hair, noisy children. If you have an opinion based on something that is not fact but something you picked up from others, do some research in order to find the truth before you jump on the bandwagon or attack. By learning about others, their lives, stories, circumstances you get a clearer picture of the reality of life and learn compassion. We would never judge anyone if we knew their whole story we would experience empathy instead.
We are all unique, our DNA proves that, and we can all learn from each other and our mistakes. Our goal as human beings is to navigate the game of life by being true to ourselves and kind to others in hope we leave the planet wiser, enlightened, fulfilled souls who embraced every second given.
Whenever we complain or kill something in nature that annoys us or gets in the way of what we think we want, we are misjudging its purpose and underestimating its power. An ant has the same right to live happily on this earth as you do, in fact probably more so because ants work together to achieve incredible things, their only purpose.
"You are part of nature and its plan. You are connected to everyone and everything around you. Stop being judgmental and start recognising life is a journey and not a destination."
Travel light. Off load unwanted baggage collected from others over the years and be free to explore unlimited possibilities.
Every time you find yourself about to judge or criticize anothers' behaviour stop in your tracks and ask yourself if what they are doing is harmful to other people or in fact any of your business and if it is not then make it your business to say nothing unless it is something positive and useful.
"Sticks and stones can break bones and the wrong words mis placed can hurt unnecessarily."
Photo by: Sharon McCutcheon Unsplash