Sunset picture from last week of a lake near me.
I’ve recently came across this quote and piece of wisdom from Ram Dass. I have to say that I wasn’t familiar with him and it was the first words I have heard from him. I liked it and thought it was a unique and different way to look at the subject that is judgement. There is not a one fits all and no matter what helps you to avoid it and turn these first impressions into compassion and understanding, the most important is our awareness and commitment to do so. It is natural to jump to conclusions and sometimes we have judged before the realization sets in that we did. The key is like I said awareness. To realize that we did, to examine it, to use reverse psychology putting ourselves into the shoes of the one being judged, and to make a conscious effort to refrain from it in the future. Perfection doesn’t exist and neither are we…perfect. But the ability to choose our actions will always be ours.
“When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent…you sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it.
The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying “you are too this, or I’m too this.” That judgement mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.”
~Ram Dass