It would seem that,
quite possibly,
the ultimate measure of health
in any community
might well reside in our ability
to stand in awe at what folks have to carry
rather than in judgment of how they carry it.
Greg Boyle, Jesuit priest,
founder of Homeboy Industries
When I consider my life from this perspective, I remember what a flimsy excuse behavior is for judging myself or anybody else. I’ve never known a moment of joy or peace the result of being attached to how someone else should behave. Not that you’d know it given how easily I can raise an eyebrow.
If the interior life of the rest of humankind is anything like mine, then a whole bunch of us are at least occasional visitors to, if not permanent residents of, the living hell of finding others short of our obviously superior standards.
I’ve always talked a good game of acceptance, but it didn’t begin to get real for me until I started meditating on not only those l find difficult to accept, but really everyone whose presence crosses my path, in the flesh or otherwise.
I enter their consciousness and feel the vibration of their existence. As I experience as best I can their struggle with things like doubt, insecurity, self-loathing, fear, shame, regret, unforgiveness, rage, and all the voices that ever told them they weren’t enough, my overriding response to their behavior is compassion.
I am filled with awe at what they are carrying, rather than judgment at the way they carry it.
And feeling that way about others makes it easier to feel that way about myself.
❦
Sharing my discoveries and welcoming yours is the purpose of this little playground. I hope you’ll add your voice when it feels right.
If you’d like to explore working together, click on Q&A, or visit my other website, CoolMindWarmHeart.com