Hey everybody!!! I hope this finds you all in good health and good spirits. It's spring finally. So that is good. I am so tired of winter and cold weather. Bring on the sunshine and yes, bring on the rain also because without the rain, the crops in the field won't grow, nor will the flowers that will bloom later on and create such incredible beauty. Also, without the rain, we can't appreciate the true beauty of the sun's rays. To go through the dark storm clouds and then see a rainbow afterwards allows us to keep the faith and hope alive. I am so glad for that.
Now for the topic of today's blog. I was reading the newest installment of Damon L. Jacobs #40 Lessons at shouldless.blogspot.com (and if you guys haven't gotten a chance to read these yet, please do.) and his #21 lesson is this: Don't Condemn What You Don't Understand. I absolutely agree with this. It's very easy for us to sit back and judge people and their choices and the way they do things from a distance. It's easy for us to point the finger at them and lay all the blame at their feet. But as the Chinese proverb states, "you cannot judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes." This is what we need to realize. It's very common for all of us to stand back and condemn that which we don't understand. It's far harder and much more difficult to actually get close to a situation and talk to the person and ask questions and get to a place of empathy. Even if we can't experience exactly what they are experiencing, we can do our best to understand it. We don't have to agree with it or like it but we do need to understand it and respect it for what it is. Their life and their choice. I don't want anyone to judge me too harshly or unfairly and I won't do that to anyone else either. We have a responsibility as humans to spread peace, love and understanding. Life is hard enough the way it is without us labelling and judging and condemning that which we don't understand. I mean, where is the fairness to judge someone without knowing them? Isn't that like reading the back cover of a book and knowing from those few words what the whole book is about and how good or bad it is? That is simply a first impression and first impressions aren't always everything. Sometimes you have to take a second, deeper and more detailed look. Heck, you might even have to read a few chapters before condemning or praising it. When I buy a book, I have to sit down and read a few pages (okay, I admit I am one of those people who pretty much reads the whole book while inside the store much to the chagrin of the employees) before I decide if I am interested in it or not. Maybe I am not interested enough to buy it but I gave it a fair shot. That is how I believe we should judge people also. Give them a shot. Get to know them. You may not like them necessarily after all that time but at least you gave them the benefit of the doubt. And I am sure that you would want them to do the same thing in return. I think the reason we don't approach people and get to know them and instead stand back and condemn them is because we are afraid. Speaking only for myself, I know that it was far safer and easier for me to stay away and keep my distance from people and just base everything on how they looked. Shameful I know but honest. I didn't understand them or what they stood for or believed in. I simply did not take the effort to either. I just knew by how they looked what kind of person they were. And it was all based on my fear. That is what held me back from approaching them and getting to know them and perhaps, liking them. How many friends did I let slip through my fingers all because of me judging them harshly and unfairly? How many of those people believed the same things I did and felt the same way I did about things but instead of going up and taking the time to get to know them, I just turned my back and condemned them? Why did I let my fear of what I didn't understand control me that way? Because it's human nature unfortunately. It's human nature for us to be afraid of what which we don't know. And so, instead of putting our fear aside and letting it hold us back to find out more about people and maybe just maybe find some pretty special people, we just keep being afraid and stand back and point our fingers and condemn. It's easy to condemn what we dont' understand. But the best of us doesn't lie in what is easiest. The best of us lies in the challenges and the tough parts of life. The best of us is about confronting our fear and facing it and moving past it to better ourselves. We have a choice every day to stand on the sidelines and keep judging others or to do the harder thing and do our best to understand and empathize. I don't know what the rest of you guys think but for me, I chose to understand. Part of that is because I am no longer that person who lets their fear of the unknown and what I don't understand consume me and part of that is because I want to do things that aren't easy. I want to make the tough choices in order to be better and set a better example. And part of that is because I always want to learn and grow and understand more. I will never know or understand everything in this life but I hope that each day that passes, I attain more knowledge and understanding. It's what I hope for you all as well. So remember, you cannot judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Start making that walk today. You never know what path it may lead you on.
Until next time
Keep the Faith
Mel
No comments:
Post a Comment