What’s this I hear about JUDGMENT?…I believe “judgment” gets a bad rap. People say, “Don’t judge.” When in reality, we do it all day long!! So, I say, Judgment Smudgment!! I know, blasphemy…right? But to me, judgment is not that big of a deal since it’s natural to do it all of the time (which brand is better, which route is faster, and which blogs are worthy of our time :)). It is when our judgment gives us inaccurate assessments, pulls us down, and makes us feel bad that we have to STOP…and use our judgment to open our eyes, open our hearts, and take back our power. The Bible says if you judge, be prepared to be judged by that same measure. So if you judge harshly, be prepared for the same! HOWEVER, if you judge fairly and generously, you also get judged fairly and generously…Get it? I will say, it’s super easy to snap and make a judgment much too quickly. I recognize this especially these days and it never feels good…On days I want to feel good and reserve my judgment of other people and their behavior for more important things like almond milk vs. coconut milk, I use an exercise I call “Imagining What We Don’t Know.” I invite you to imagine this new way of thinking when you make judgments. And, believe me, you will, I will, we all will….so here’s your reminder: Scenario 1 You notice someone moving away from you as though you have a serious case of the cooties…you might be triggered to be annoyed as you’re doing everything you can to stay 6 feet away from EVERY person on what feels like all six sides of you… “geeez”… …..truth is, there is a new “cootie” in town, and even though I’m tired of seeing the name of it splashed all over my screen, it doesn’t negate the fact that we are dealing with it and deal we must. Imagine what you don’t know This person may be more susceptible and/or care for a loved one who has a weakened immune system, so their battle to stay as healthy as possible is multifold and real. Scenario 2 You see someone raging, be it IN line at the grocery store or ON line in social media… Imagine what you don’t know Maybe they are a lung cancer survivor or someone awaiting test results to see if they’re + or – (this could cover any number of tests). Fear has many faces and one of those can look like anger. If we lose the opportunity to look closer, we might miss that. I did just that earlier this week, so that’s why I can write about it now. Scenario 3 You smile and hold the door and the person enters without so much as a “thanks” or even a look your way as if it’s an automatic door…seriously? Do they think it magically opened? What we do know is that’s just rude. Imagine what you don’t know Maybe they worked all night in their Essential Job and were too tired to be too expressive with their eyes, and just wanted to grab a coffee and go home to eat, cry, and sleep. (Maybe they’d watched someone take their last breath a few hours ago…) Only to wake up and do it again…. and it’s been like that for weeks…just imagine. They may be too tired to work-up a smile. “Imagining What We Don’t Know…” Is an exercise I developed over 25 years ago after trailing behind an old car for several miles going what felt like two miles per hour as I screamed encouragements the whole way like… “Build a garage around it, Grandpa!!” “OH MY GOOOOODDDDDDDD. Are you kidding me??” “Don’t you have some $&#?%~ place to be????” And that’s when he made the slowest left turn into the cemetery…and immediately tears filled my eyes and spilled down my face as I imagined he had recently buried his wife or a loved one and yes, was probably in no hurry. And I whispered…“Yes, regrettably you do have some place to be.” In the coming days, I invite you to observe yourself in moments you find yourself wanting to judge harshly. And then use your imagination to free your heart and mind from the weight of that heavy judgment. Teresa R. Getman
The Dare to Dream Diva
InnerPrizes, LLC
Judgment Smudgment!!
