Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Weekend Philosopher: Judgment


The world is filled with judgments, many of them negative.  Whether we mean to or not, we make assumptions based on the way people dress, the color of their skin, their religion, where they come from, their job or lack thereof, how much money someone has, who someone falls in love with, and a variety of other factors.

Even when someone makes an actual mistake, I find it does well to remember this.

Background Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono
 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

None of us are perfect, and it's far too easy to dismiss someone without taking our own imperfections into consideration.  We are all human, we are all fallible.  That doesn't mean we don't have amazing things to offer.

Since we know judgment of others comes all too easily, we know also that people will judge us.  This can prompt us to look inward and think too critically of what we see.  Don't live according to what you fear other people will think about you.  If you go that route, you will only wind up making yourself unhappy.  No matter who you are or who you pretend to be, someone will judge you badly for it.  So if the negativity will come either way, why make yourself miserable by denying who you are?  Why judge yourself unworthy of being shared with the world?

Found on Sun Gazing Facebook page.

Don't dwell on those who think badly of you, and surround yourself with people who love and encourage you.  Life is too short to be wasted on the negativity, whether you aim it at yourself or people you don't know.  I've aimed a lot of negativity at myself over the years, and I can say from firsthand experience that it's a waste of time and energy.  I'd rather devote that time and energy to something more productive.

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