Mirror, mirror on the wall...

I think the issue that I've been dealing with the most lately, is my knack to judge, and it's not even people that I know, but the ones that I don't know are the worst. It was something that I did the first two years of high school, and after some things happened back in fall of '07, I think I started picking up the same habits. It's only been lately that I've noticed how much worse I've gotten. While I am open-minded (which I absolutely hate to say - I'll come back to that) about sexuality, certain lifestyle choices, certain social statuses, etc. I've realized that I can judge harshly on other aspects of life. I could sit here and list all the ways that I've judged and that I've been close-minded, but I don't think that making a list of them is going to help me or hurt me, it'd simply be out there for the world to see, which I'd prefer it not to be, personally.

Instead, I'd rather construct for myself different ways to be less judgmental.

Firstly, I think it is EXTREMELY important to note that I HATE being judged. I think that is probably my biggest pet peeve. Whether it's right or wrong, I'd prefer people ask me about a situation or my thoughts before assuming that I feel a certain way. This is so important because realizing how bad something makes me feel should make me want to do it less. I need to remember that.

Secondly, as an English major, I've definitely learned to never judge a book by it's cover. Last semester in Medieval Lit, 2 or 3 of the books had the least interesting covers to me, so I assumed the worst, as it turns out, those books were my favorite versus the one with the interesting covers. What does this have to do with anything? Sometimes things are much nicer on the inside or much uglier on the inside. It's important to note that it can go either way.

Thirdly, I think about all the things that I don't like and do like and might like, etc. To think that someone is grouping me into a mental cluster based on my likes and dislikes is certainly unnerving to say the least. I don't someone to do that to me, so I'm certainly not going to do it to anyone else.

It's not going to be easy, and I'm not going to say that I'll never judge another human being again, because that's 100% impossible, but if I am more conscious of it and aware of my thoughts and my actions, I'm more likely to avoid a blunder because of my lack of mental tact.

I think it all boils down to the age old, "treat others how you want to be treated..."

Anyway, I'm off to read Oedipus Rex. Incest, murder, and insanity, OH MY.