Don't Judge

How often do you feel invisible, manipulated, or without a voice? There are so many times I witness people being bullied or told what to do; whether it's when watching the TV news, reading an online article, or standing in line at the grocery store. Some people like to feel superior, but to do so they need to make someone else feel inferior first. They feel they need to shout and talk loudly at people in order to be heard, even when they are standing right next to them. They're trying to manipulate the situation. When climbing up on to their pedestal to be seen, they need to push others out of the way or down in order to get where they feel they should be.

For all of the cruelty I see in the world; the hatred, the jealousies, and the ignorance ... I also see hope. I see people holding doors open for strangers, I see people giving hugs to show their support, and I see people stopping to listen and pay attention to people. I prefer to hang on to the hope. It helps me to maintain my faith in a world that is currently full of power trips and insecurities.

Let's take a minute and focus on the ignorance. Being ignorant doesn't necessarily make a person dumb, but it does mean they are uninformed. They don't have all the answers; they haven't stopped to look at the whole picture, yet they've managed to find a way to unfairly place blame or judgment on someone or a situation. 

How many times have you been criticized for something you weren't even part of? How many times have you worked hard at something only for someone to generalize what you do as if even a monkey to do it. They make unfair assumptions without ever knowing you or even what you do. We need to remember to NOT judge what's on the surface, especially when we don't have a clue what's beneath it or behind it. Knowledge is a great thing. It enables us to be more understanding, more empathetic, and more aware. Sure, it may take us a little bit more time to become informed, but I'd consider that time well spent if it helped me to not be ignorant or make false judgments.

As usual, it's just my two cents worth of wisdom, but wisdom comes from experience and learning life lessons the hard way.

Thoughts?

Focus on the Ordinary

Ever notice how there are always those people who seem to be able to accomplish amazing things? We read about them on the Internet and follow their statuses on Instagram. Maybe they are a performer, a well-known chef, an Olympic athlete, an artist, an established author, or a gardener. Maybe they do amazing things or say profound words; regardless you sit and wait with bated breath to see what they will do next. Guess what? They really aren't any different than you or I. Sure, maybe they can sing better or paint better or write better or make us laugh or cry more, but they are still just other human beings. We all have our own insecurities and our own strengths. 

Sometimes it's nice to have the things we do get noticed, but that isn't always why we do what we do. We write or garden or sculpt or run because it makes us happy. We may not be the best at it, but we put our best into what we are doing. If someone else likes it or feels encouraged by it, that is great ... that is a bonus.

Simplicity is about being authentic. Do what you like to do; what makes you feel good about yourself, and just do your best. Often times the ordinary is just one small step away from becoming extraordinary. Everything you do matters; to you and to those around you. We don't always realize it when we're singing that special song or planting the colorful garden for others to admire or creating that one-of-a-kind art piece that will make someone look at it with awe ... that we've turned our gift or talent into something someone else thinks is amazing. Any God-given talent we have should never be wasted. We need to honor the gift and share it.

So, focus on the things you do that you think are ordinary ...believe in them and in yourself and you may be surprised by the end result. You may start to notice all of the amazing things you've already been doing.

Who do you admire and why?

What do they do or say that affects you?

Which Would You Rather ...

Every once in a while I hear a segment on the radio or a TV talk show that asks "Which would you rather ..." Human behavior has been a mystery for hundreds of years. Psychologists will try to figure out and predict how people will react and respond in given situations. Just this week I listened to a radio talk show that was once again asking this question.

There were several scenarios; but none of them too new.

 

• Would you rather have good health or money?
• Would you rather know when the last day of your life would be or just let it happen?

There's one question I've always wondered ... would you rather have the ability to read minds or be invisible? Super hero status aside, I suppose each could have their own distinct advantages, but then the question becomes 'why would you want either one?' If you could read minds you'd always know what people were 'really' thinking and whether or not people were being honest with you. If you could be invisible then you'd be able to observe everything without people knowing you were there; perhaps even discovering which people were really your friends and which ones gossiped about you behind your back. If we're being completely honest, I'm sure everyone has had some point in their life, whether in their personal or professional environment, when they've felt some degree of insecurity. Insecurities and jealousy can be dangerous. Our imaginations can run wild, imagining and believing the worst without any real validations. IF you had the opportunity to know what people really thought would you change the way you lived your life or your behavior based on opinions that were never told to you directly? Many will claim they have thick skin and say that they don't care what people think, but deep down would that be completely true? Can anyone really never care? Is there anyone you know who is that confident 100% of the time?

 

The reality is that we cannot always change other people; what they say or what they do. We can suggest change, we can imply inappropriateness, and we can hope that people will have integrity and good morals. BUT the one thing we can do, really the only thing, is observe ourselves more closer rather than others. We can change what we do and what we say and how we act and we can change how we are around other people. In the end, we shouldn't be so quick to cast the first stone AND we'll need to dig deep and know that we only need to answer to ourselves and God for our own actions. Let other people's words and actions be just that ... theirs. They'll need to live with the consequences.