Judging a book by it's cover
How many times have we all heard not to judge a book by it's cover? Yet how many times do we witness others or even ourselves passing judgements on other people based on the color of their skin, where they live, the language they speak, their faith, economic caste, sexual orientation, etc?
My hand made pipe that I made this morning
What really matters is our actions, not the physical characteristics of the vessel or where it grew up on Mother Earth. It takes no effort at all to use stereotypes to assume that an individual will act a specific way based on social perceptions of a group. However, it takes a great deal more effort to bypass the stereotypes and really get to know the other individual's spirit despite the social perceptions of the majority. How many of us are able and willing to do that type of work? How many of us are capable of seeing past our own bias and the other individuals vessel in order to peering deep into the soul? How many of us are willing to make an intimate spiritual connection with another being?
I experience a great deal of pain as I witness stereotypes and ignorance being used as weapons against one another. I look for people who are able and willing to overcome great pain, adversity and hardships to explore those intimate spiritual, emotional and mental connections. It is those people, who have gone through hell and back, that are capable of expressing the most beautiful love there is. It is those people who choose to be blind to the temptations of the physical and can peer deeply into the spirit of another being, whether or not they have two legs, four, wings or none.
I see people claim to be peaceful yet they are in the middle of a war. Peace has nothing to do with our vessel and everything to do with spirit.
Violence, greed and lust are all blind as they are temptations to distract and test us on the path we are here to walk. I am not perfect as I continue to work on my own journey. I know what I need to work on and I fall down at times only to get back up. I work hard to forgive those who violate spirit and I stand between them and their victims. It does not matter if they wield physical or virtual swords, they still draw spiritual blood. Words are mightier than the sword and we must use extreme caution when we use them. Violent ideas are not overcome through violence but rather sharing new ideas to make the violence obsolete. We end war not through conflict, but by building our communities so that they are strong, vibrant, healthy and able to confront with peace.
We are all sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins, for life. - Tennessee Williams
If we want to be free, the keys are found in our compassion, empathy, peace, freedom, joy and love. We will not get out of this alive unless we surrender to spirit and live life under a new paradigm. That requires a leap of faith as the path is counter to how we have been raised or what we witness in the world around us. We have indeed isolated ourselves to the point where we are in solitary confinement. But life does not have to be that way.
I see too much anger, hatred, judgements and violence directed towards others. Confront inappropriate behaviour, action and inaction peacefully. But do so when you are a witness, not through hearsay.
Tonight I will do a smudge and prayer for those that are fleeing war, confronting disease, healing past wounds and walking the spiritual path!
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I like how you have used the analogy. The language we use and the words we speak can build or destroy. We must choose wisely.
Two things I have focused on for the past year are,
Friendship.
These are two small ways I am working on how I 'judge a book by it's cover.'
I see people doing the same everywhere.. in person, online, in the media.. it's an epidemic.
What ever happened to the Golden Rule? Have people forgotten that? It is almost as if we are in a universe of who can bully who more and who can come up with the best name-calling insult. It deeply saddens me to see this.
The disrespect. The verbal cruelty. And at times, the narrow-mindedness of people has become too hostile to fathom.
I agree with you. That is why I started The Virtue Circle as well. At what point do we cross the line and become abusive to others? As we slide further down the slavery slope of hell, we lose touch with where the line of love, respect, decency and honour actually rests.
If I even demand that you answer a question that I pose, that crosses the line and is abusive. Learning where the line is will take time, but the lines are so far most have no idea where they are. We have a lot of work to do. Peace to you.
Highly rEsteemed
It is difficult to know someone unless you walk a mile in their shoes. I try very hard never to judge anyone and to accept them as they are. I am only human, and there have been times when I have failed. The key is to ask forgiveness and make amends if possible. Listen to what others have to say. Don't just think you know what they have said.
Let me ask a honest question @wwf - Is it possible to give every individual the benefit of the doubt? Won't that be impracticable?
I try to give everyone a fair chance but when a particular set from a group burns me too many times, I begin to distrust them all. Am I wrong to?
How would you feel if somebody did that to you? I know for me, I've done a LOT of work on myself over the years. I've changed considerably and made huge strides in how I govern myself. However, I know of many who still judge me based on the color of my skin or associate me with terrorists. While I recognize that it is THEIR issue, not mine, it still hurts. Because of that, I work hard to not do that to others.
With that said, I also have to be careful because I am also aware that people make generalize comments about a specific group of people and it is up to me to not take those generalizations personally either. Most times I work hard to let that shit pass me by as it is up to me to take it on or not. This is common when people use generalizations in their posts or comments. Again, I feel it is a reflection of where they are in their life and has nothing to do with me.
As for me, I've found my life has changed considerably when I don't impose stereotypes upon others. Yes, it is work and inconvenient. However, if I'm going to love somebody as my self, it is my duty to do the work. Impractical? No. Necessary? Absolutely!
Perhaps I should work on myself more... It is really difficult to forgive once I've been burned though.
Great article by the way, I always look forward to them
Thank you for your question. It spawned my next post. Innocent until proven guilty. <3
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