Friday, July 24, 2009

judgment days

We are all guilty. We have all had one of those days when we were overtired, or things weren't going quite as planned, or for no clear reason we just felt pissed off. So the casting of judgement begins....

When we were teenagers judgmental attitude ran rampant in our lives. I felt it was somehow my duty to be tirelessly critical. It used to go something like 'eeeeew she listens to Mariah Carey. And her hair is so 80s.' Or 'that guy thinks he's so hard but he's into Warrant what an idiot'. Ring any bells?

Yes but we aren't like that anymore. We have grown out of it. We now accept each other for who we are and just get on with our own lives. Fat chance! It seems it is part of being human to sit on our throne in the sky of our mind judging and pitying our fellow man....

Ever since having a baby I have been overwhelmed by the amount of advice/criticism that has been liberally dished out from all angles. 'You are still breast feeding? Are you nuts? You have to stop! You're not a cow! Hasn't the doctor told you you can give the baby milk thats not yours? They sell it at the pharmacy!' This is but one highlight of direct quotes from an endless torrent covering all aspects from behaviour to eating habits . I have gone through many attempts at being buddha-like and letting it all just slide off me. But its not easy when you're exhausted. And that is when the Queen Bee in my brain thinks its high time I start to judge back! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!

So, here I am, on the verge of judging others for judging others. Being judgemental is a bit like a drug. It helps you blow some steam, short term. But in the long term it just makes you grumpy and miserable and you need to keep doing it to feel ok. I remember being around 21 and saying something thoughtless to a friend about someone we both knew. He turned to me and said, 'never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins'. I realised he had a point so I just shut up. It was good advice.

1 comment:

  1. Spot on Angela...

    I agree ABC...plus I think he used the word 'moccasins' rather than 'shoes' to sound wiser.

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