On judgement…

Aspire to empathy as everyone is fighting their own unknown demons.

It is valuable to remember that empathy does not equal agreement.

“We are not privy to the stories behind people’s actions, so we should be patient with others and suspend judgement of them, recognizing the limits of our understanding.”

~ Epictetus

Everyone is unique. Give people plenty of space.

Don’t get lost in your judging mind.

When you go into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees… and some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens and some of them are – whatever. And you look at the tree, and you just – allow it. You appreciate it. You see why it is the way it is, you sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way, and you don’t get all emotional about it, you just allow it. You appreciate the tree.

You don’t judge one tree as better than another tree. It’s just different. 

The minute we get near humans, we tend to lose that perspective, reverting to “You’re too this,” or “I’m too that”…that judging mind appears.

Practice turning people into trees, which means appreciating them just the way they are.

The beauty of human connection lies in our ability to appreciate and value these diverse traits in one another.

Be comfortable with uncertainly, and withholding judgement whenever possible. The wiser a person becomes, the more uncertainty they would embrace.

Watch how your mind judges.

Judgment comes, in part, out of your own fear.

You judge other people because you’re not comfortable in your own being.

Remember that when you point one finger, there are three fingers pointing back to you.

By judging, you find out where you stand in relation to other people.

The judging mind is very divisive. I

t separates.

Separation closes your heart.

If you close your heart to someone, you are perpetuating your suffering and theirs.

Shifting out of judgment means learning to appreciate your predicament and their predicament with an open heart instead of judging.

Then you can allow yourself and others to just be, without separation.

“You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone”.

 ~ Marcus Aurelius

"We judge ourselves by what we are capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow