Judgement is such a natural part of life. Everyone does it, everyone suffers from it. But just because we all do something never makes it right. We think that it's no big deal. Look at that person over there. Did they not look in the mirror this morning? How could they knowingly leave the house with their hair like that? Or in that shirt, those pants, those shoes... That HAT! Or what about the voice of that woman in your office? The one who talks obnoxiously loud and is completely unaware of how annoying she is. Or that totally uncool guy you won't admit you dated who was so antisocial because he didn't spend time in the right places, with the right people.
We make all these snap judgments on the people we run into every day without knowing hardly a thing about them. We do it in part because we are bored and not caught up enough in our own business, but mostly we do it because in some manner we feel insecure about ourselves. We need to bring those around us down a few pages so that we can feel elevated. What we don't realize though is that the only one we are bringing down is ourselves.
First off, the people we are judging... unless you are vocalizing your opinions, don't even realize you have made these decisions regarding them. And should you be vocalizing these thoughts to them, all you are doing is displaying the darkness and inadequacies within yourself for public viewing. Additionally, these judgements you have just made have not just gone into the air and vanished. If nothing else they are saved in your own mind as a check list. Things you must never do, never imitate, unless you wish to arise self disdain.
By demanding perfection of those around you, lest they be judged, you'll soon realize that you too are being judged. And then the self consciousness arises. Now perfection must be your standard. The slightest slip up could be the cause of hours, if not weeks, of self deflating accusations. How could you be that stupid, that naive? How could you mess that up? You'll say that you don't care what other people think, but in truth if you really had not a care about others, you wouldn't have any judgements on those around you in the first place.
In reality, when we judge, the loser is ourselves. We lose respect for others, we lose respect for ourselves. We paint the world with a cynical brush. Our thoughts destroy us from within.
Therefore let your thoughts be uplifting. When you see others that are not as you are, let them be. Be happy for them that they have found happiness, who cares if it breaks your mold? And if they have not, well then pray for them that they would. Lift them up, and in return you will lift up yourself.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The Curse of the Rain People
What is it about the rain that you never get used to it? I've lived in Seattle since I was about 5 years old but the long periods of overcast and light misting or "Seattle rain" as we call it, never get any easier. Worst of all is watching people try and drive in the rain. You would think living in a place where rain is pretty much a given 80% of the time or so people would be experts. But every time it rains during the morning commute you're assured an extra 10-30 minutes of drive time to get there. Either by the constant brake lights as people worry they'll hydroplane on a puddle, or by an accident occurring from people losing all common sense and acting like the droplets of liquid falling from the sky are the first sign of the Apocalypse and God engulfing the world in yet another flood.
Even more comical is the refusal of Seattleites to do any sort of outdoor activity on a day that the sun is not radiating from the sky and technically classified as unusually warm. We're as vitamin D deficient as a cave man. Try passing off a fake and bake tan in this town as natural without being immediately discovered as a liar. Outside of the month of August if you dare sport a tan expect to be asked routinely "so where did you just fly in from?"
It's a funny phenomenon then that Seattle has a fairly large running community. Almost any weekend you want you can find some sort of sponsored run to benefit this or that cause... or in some cases just for the sake of an excuse to gather around a shared interest. One of my favorites I've heard of is the chocolate lovers run. I believe it was an 8K where instead of having energy goo and water at different intervals along the run, they had pit stops for chocolaty treats. Or the 5K sponsored by Top Pot doughnuts. I was disappointed when I learned that one was a weekend I would be out of town. What other time could I eat one of their decadent masterpieces, which are described as being like crack to the doughnut lover, without feeling extreme gilt over the knowledge of how calorie laden the carb loaded treat is?
I was wondering today as my friends and I ditched out on a run we were signed up for, exactly what percent of people who sign up for these runs actually participate? I would imagine the planners of these events must see a drastic drop in attendance based on the weather report. Perhaps organizers with pre-paid admittance fees to some of the more popular runs spend the prior evening attempting a rain dance in the hopes of a more manageable crowd. In all honesty I wouldn't be surprised to hear that for some races there is only 50% or less attendance of pre-registered runners.
I suppose I should feel more than just a little guilt over not attending the run this morning. Truly it is a story of cowardice for a person who has grown up around this kind of weather. But despite the fact that I had woken up early and prepared, I still supported my friends decision to keep on driving past the exit to the race as we looked at the long line of cars waiting on the freeway to exit, and the rain beating down on the windshield. So instead of running the 8K and attempting to "Beat the Bridge" before it went up, we sat nice and dry inside a Top Pot doughnuts sipping coffee. Then proceeded over to a friends house after the race traffic had cleared out to have brunch and drink mimosas. But really, who can stand the feeling of having wet feet?
Even more comical is the refusal of Seattleites to do any sort of outdoor activity on a day that the sun is not radiating from the sky and technically classified as unusually warm. We're as vitamin D deficient as a cave man. Try passing off a fake and bake tan in this town as natural without being immediately discovered as a liar. Outside of the month of August if you dare sport a tan expect to be asked routinely "so where did you just fly in from?"
It's a funny phenomenon then that Seattle has a fairly large running community. Almost any weekend you want you can find some sort of sponsored run to benefit this or that cause... or in some cases just for the sake of an excuse to gather around a shared interest. One of my favorites I've heard of is the chocolate lovers run. I believe it was an 8K where instead of having energy goo and water at different intervals along the run, they had pit stops for chocolaty treats. Or the 5K sponsored by Top Pot doughnuts. I was disappointed when I learned that one was a weekend I would be out of town. What other time could I eat one of their decadent masterpieces, which are described as being like crack to the doughnut lover, without feeling extreme gilt over the knowledge of how calorie laden the carb loaded treat is?
I was wondering today as my friends and I ditched out on a run we were signed up for, exactly what percent of people who sign up for these runs actually participate? I would imagine the planners of these events must see a drastic drop in attendance based on the weather report. Perhaps organizers with pre-paid admittance fees to some of the more popular runs spend the prior evening attempting a rain dance in the hopes of a more manageable crowd. In all honesty I wouldn't be surprised to hear that for some races there is only 50% or less attendance of pre-registered runners.
I suppose I should feel more than just a little guilt over not attending the run this morning. Truly it is a story of cowardice for a person who has grown up around this kind of weather. But despite the fact that I had woken up early and prepared, I still supported my friends decision to keep on driving past the exit to the race as we looked at the long line of cars waiting on the freeway to exit, and the rain beating down on the windshield. So instead of running the 8K and attempting to "Beat the Bridge" before it went up, we sat nice and dry inside a Top Pot doughnuts sipping coffee. Then proceeded over to a friends house after the race traffic had cleared out to have brunch and drink mimosas. But really, who can stand the feeling of having wet feet?
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