A Snapshot

Today I found yet another reason why not to judge.

We've discussed previously, that:

1. Nobody appointed me a judge over their affairs, or asked for my opinion, so keep my nose out of their business.
2. Setting myself up as a judge, puts me in the awful position of being judged, criticised and condemned myself.

Well, a third reason might be: We simply have no idea.

We don’t have a clue what that person has been through, what troubles they've had, what battles they've won, what trauma they have endured, what heaviness they carry.

All we get, is a Snapshot.

Looking at someone impatient in a queue – how could I possibly know how close they are to suicide? Their child just died, or they've just lost their job, or they have tremendous back pain.

I understand this well, because I have been on both sides:

A player on the pitch

I have met people who have made a snap (incorrect) judgment of me within the first minute of meeting me. They think they’re clever, because they ‘read’ people. Well, not me baby. You have no idea what kind of day I've had, how dissolusioned I am, what it’s taken just to get me here.

And

A spectator in the stalls.

Looking at a public speaker, I sometimes catch myself criticising their manner, their approach, their performance, ugh, stinky me, so I choose to stop. I have no idea how much they have prepared, how nervous they are, what is going on beneath the surface, what their commute was like to get here. I choose instead to accept them, and smile at them, and encourage them, and offer my support.

A brief Snapshot into people’s lives is all we get.

A static photograph,

showing what they were like

at a precise time in history.

All the more reason not to point the finger, to judge, to accuse, or be superior.

We are all on the same journey through life – let's work together, not hinder each other.