Today I am going to spend of a bit of time on judgment or judging others. I know each of us judge, when we want to admit it or not, or whether we are conscious of it or not. We might have an opinion, or judgment, on the clothing that someone is wearing, or a hairstyle, or even more critical, we may have an opinion on how someone is living their life. Whatever the case, we judge. When I was younger, let's say in my mid to late twenties, I was a huge judger! I, honestly, dont even think I was aware of how I judged people. At the time, I thought I was happily married, had a child, and a townhouse. I was working in the design field, and I thought my life was pretty great. I cant say that I ever thought I was better than anyone else, but I did not hold back offering my opinion on situations and things. Then something happened, the bottom fell out of my life...I was getting divorced, moving out, and the man who I was married to, the one who I thought was the end-all, be-all, turned out to be the biggest liar of them all! I was embarrassed, scared, and humiliated all in one! It was at that time that I learned....dont judge. Much like karma, judgment came back to bite me in the ass, and now I had to deal with things. I was certainly humbled by the experiences of my life, and unfortunately for me, I had to break the habit of judging people, places, events, and things. But really, in retrospect, was it really so unfortunate that I had to break this horrible habit? NO...NOT AT ALL! Breaking my habit of judgment was one of the best things in life I could have ever done. Breaking this habit, has allowed me to humble myself, appreciate my life, and be more empathetic towards the life of others. People do things for different reasons. Sometimes they are scared, and feel they have no choices or outlets. Sometimes they do not have their eyes open to any given situation, and are not seeing clearly, or sometimes they are just plain okay with the situation at hand, and dont care or desire to change it. Whatever the case, it is their story, and who am I to judge it?!? Lucky for me, I think I have been pretty successful at calming the tides of judgment. Dont get me wrong, I still have my opinions, but everybody is entitled to an opinion. I think the difference is, I am more tolerant of peoples lives and stories, and I know, in their heart, they are doing the best that they can do in the moment!
Today's activity: break the barrier...don't judge!
By definition: perception; to be critical or non-critical of one's perception
Today I encourage you to break a personal barrier that you may have, and DON'T JUDGE. I know this task may be difficult, or not so difficult, for you to handle...but just take baby steps. When you feel the urge to judge the clothing that someone is wearing, STOP, and say to yourself..."Im not going to judge. When you feel the need to judge someone's actions, STOP, and say to yourself..."Who am I to judge?" In reality, it is probably going to take a few weeks to break this barrier, but it will all be worth it. In the end, you will feel lighter, and more free. You will know, in your heart, that everyone has a story, and who am I, you, me, us to judge? We each have our own stories, and we do not need to burden ourselves with additional weight on our shoulders....leave the judgment to our Higher Power! Go, do, be, and DON'T judge! xo
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