Rest assured that, generally speaking, others are acting in exactly the same manner that you would under exactly the same circumstances. Hence, be kind, understanding, empathetic, compassionate, and loving.-Gary W. Fenchuk

Today’s Meditation:

It’s very easy to be judgmental of other people when we’re not going through the same things they are. If we were to step back, though, and ask ourselves what may be making people act the way they do, we might find causes that we never might have considered and we might understand their actions much more.
Longfellow spoke of the concept of walking a mile in another person’s moccasins, and he definitely wasn’t the first person to speak of such a thing. Someone else said that if we were to throw everyone’s problems into a huge pile, once we saw some of the things that other people are going through we would be more than glad to take our own problems back.
Kind. Understanding. Empathetic. Compassionate. Loving.

These are qualities that we would love to see in other people, but how are they ever going to know that it’s okay to live this way if we don’t model it for them? How can we model these qualities if we don’t feel them if we don’t do our best to see the best in other people if we don’t try to understand what others are going through as they make their way through living life fully?
We all know what it’s like to be judged, so let’s not do the judging ourselves. Let us be kind to one another, and let us try to understand what others need in their lives before we act swiftly to condemn them or the things that they do. If the world is to become a kinder, gentler place, then the transformation must begin somewhere. Let it begin with us.

Questions to ponder:

1. What are some things we can do to try to become more kind and compassionate?
2. When all is said and done, do we have the right to judge others and the things they do? Where does that right come from?
3. What kinds of positive things can we contribute to the world if we insist on being judgmental? What can we contribute if we act more kindly?

For further thought:

You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.-Dale Carnegie