And if you could, would you?

I am going to give you a simple truth about judgment, of both yourself and others.

Ready? Here it goes.

Judgments = opinions that often engender resentment…and righteousness.  Your judgment is an indicator that you have an issue to clear. The jerk who honks their horn at you even though it’s their fault. The other jerk who takes the parking space that you were waiting so patiently for. The troubled parent who abandons their child. The sick person who opens fire in a public place.

  • Let me take each of the examples above and shed some light on them: The horn honker and the parking space taker — Why do you care if they honk their horn? Why does it matter if they are wrong and you are right? Whatever buttons (issues) you have around being made wrong, or things being unfair, or having to be right, or not liking loud noises being directed at you, are being pushed, and this is why you care.
  • The troubled parent and the sick person — Yes, child abandonment and acts of violence are awful in my book too, and I deeply feel for all involved every time I hear of such acts. But for anyone to do such a thing, they must be incredibly sick, pained and/or fearful, and they deserve compassion, too.

This exploration isn’t suggesting we let anyone off the hook for acts of unkindness or violence. We’re talking about how you can free yourself from judging others. Your judgments hurt only you—they fester, and can even cause you to implode and become sick. They don’t (usually) affect anyone else.

Any time you have judgment, it is an indicator that you have something to heal within yourself. The great thing about this is that when you understand this, you have the opportunity to live a much more peaceful existence.

Why care about having a peaceful existence? Would you rather die a happy, fulfilled, and peaceful person, or die angry, bitter and resentful? The more you judge, the easier it becomes to do it again, and again. At some point you will find yourself unhappy, angry and pessimistic much of the time. Is this how you want to live? Is this how you want to die? I think not.

What about those who judge just a little, or every now and then? Given how short life is, do you really want to waste even a minute on anything but what brings you happiness and fulfillment? I know I don’t.

Want to understand more about freeing yourself of judgment?  Check out From Pebbles To Pathways: A Journey of Healing the Heart One Insight at at Time. 

Article author:  Donna M Thomas

Article source:  Can You Stop Your Judgment of Others?

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This blog, and all my writings, are explorations into the wondrous, deep, and ever-evolving process of living, loving and growing. My intention with Pebbles for Thought, is to empower and uplift, one post at a time.