So, what's on my mind this morning is Judgment. I capitalize that word for a couple of reasons; 1) so you'll know it's the subject, and 2) because I think it's the most invasive stumbling block to love, peace, freedom and passion that exists.
The ability to make choices plays an important role in our human experience. We are blessed with the ability to determine what we like, what we don't like and choose accordingly. In actuality, that's called Discernment.
We cannot help but discern in almost every moment of our lives. We are constantly thinking about something in some manner, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. We cannot drive down the street without thinking something about what we're looking at. "I love the new paint color on that house." "How long are those people going to let their lawn look like that?" "What an idiot! Didn't s/he see me waiting to turn here?"
And on and on it goes. Our personal preferences define who we are, what we like, what we do, who we spend our time with and how we spend our money. Being able to choose for our own lives is essential for our conscious expansion and our experience of being physical. How boring would life be if we all had no choice but to listen to Enya whilst laying on a red velvet Victorian sofa in a purple Craftsman Cottage, drinking tea? Well, you get my point ;-)
Diversity and the inherent ability to decide for ourselves what feels good and what doesn't, what we like and don't like, and what we choose to experience or not, is what makes this life so fabulous!
So, now you're probably asking yourself, "If my ability to judge things is inherent, how can it be an issue that keeps me from love, peace, freedom and passion?"
Well, I'm glad you asked. The problem lies in what we do with our judgments. The thing is, our discernment cannot EVER be the correct discernment for anyone but OURSELVES. The moment I put my judgments onto you, or them, or he or she, I have created an issue that does not need to exist and can only keep me from my own joy.
My ability to judge any given situation, is just that. MY ability to judge for MYSELF... not for you, not for them, not for he or she... but solely for me. Period. End of discussion. It is not my place to pass any judgment more than a simple, "Hm, that's interesting... think I'll choose something different."
It doesn't matter the conversation, the situation or the issue. No matter what we do, no matter how close we are to someone, we can NEVER have walked each moment of a lifetime in that person's reality.
Can we learn from others? Absolutely. Can we glean our own inspired insights from observing how others are doing their lives, by entering conversations and debates? Of course. What we must cease doing is placing any of our beliefs on the others as being "bad." I run into this a lot with my smoking. Everyone has an opinion, as I'm sure you can guess. But, it's nobody's business what I do with my-self.
I watched "Kate: Her Story" last night on TLC (Jon & Kate + 8). I have been aghast at what our society, the media specifically has done to that family. NOBODY on this planet, except for Jon and Kate, can understand the nuances and details of what happened in their lives. And, have you ever gone down a road that seemed like a good idea at the time, only to find out later that it had more pitfalls and drawbacks than you could have determined at the beginning? I sure have.
Where do people get off sitting on their couches and passing judgment? In society or our families, in our relationships or our businesses... it is just none of our business to tell others how to live their lives.
More importantly, the more judging we do and express, the more we hold ourselves apart from our own love, peace and joy. We cannot hold those cherished spaces within, while our minds and mouths are busy pushing our choices down someone's throat.
Let he who is without sin...
