Our judgment addiction

I guess with judgment day approaching fast everyone is getting their practice in now. And sure why not. Judging others is such a fulfilling past time - filling the multiple objectives of creating boundaries (she has no manners), defining self (thank goodness I'm not like that) and distracting oneself from the task at hand (our own shortcomings, sadness and pain). Most insidiously, judgment seems to be partnered with the need to discuss, analyse and share. Our individual judgments of each other aren't good enough. We need to spread them around too.

Of course I'm judging now. See. And a few weeks ago I had the lovely experience of being judged by one of the most judgmental people I've ever known. Which was a really enlightening experience because that was the moment that I realise that the entire practice of judgment was yet another completely and totally waste of time habit (like living in the past, what if ruminations and freaks out about the future) that we humans seemed to have accidentally adopted to great effect.

Our judgment of everyone and everything keeps us properly bound and tied in our little isolated worlds. There's no need to talk to anyone, reach out, bake a pie for your neighbour or try something new. Why bother when we've judged all road as leading in a less satisfactory direction.

Judgment has led all of us in the west to an unhappy stalemate. and not a peaceful one but a festering, angry, bitter one. and no one is really free of it. because we're all in it. we're all a part of it. We've all got our view on "other" even if other really is ourselves. I wonder what's going to happen on judgment day. No need really for someone else to show up and pronounce judgment on us. They can just leave us sitting around in a big room waiting and judging each other. GOD knows that'll be hell enough for eternity.

What we see in others is ultimately the universe mirroring what we see in ourselves. But like seeing yourself, seeing yourself, seeing yourself in a mirror the only way to escape this infinite mirroring of each other to each other is to rise above it and completely remove yourself from it. For many of us this will be like quitting smoking. But its got to be done. Judges: STOP. Find something else to do. Take up golf or basket weaving. Get a job. Get a life. If you don't like someone don't see them. If you don't like something don't do it. If you don't like somewhere move. Otherwise, if you can't think something nice, don't think anything at all.

Giving up judgment will be hard for all of us but the curiosity of what lies behind those mirrors is incentive enough for me to start right away. See you on the other side.