Observing Life’s True Beauty

Day 18: Non-judgement of people and of circumstances allows you to be open

Noticing the cool air early this morning, observing the sunshine peeking through the fence gate, I walked this morning on my daily journey through the back garden of our home. I have made it my practice to walk here each and every morning. It is a ritual that I have come to love. As I explore each bit of amazing wisdom for 100 days from the book The Infinite Self by Stuart Wilde, I am in awe of what I learn each day.

Today’s journey is all about making it a daily practice to not judge people or life. This is a practice that takes time, observation of yourself and patience. Many times part of our daily habit is to judge and to criticize people or things that are happening in the world. It takes time and effort to start to curb this habit and notice how much better we can feel in our hearts when we do. We can have grace for ourselves if we catch ourselves judging. We can know that when we observe ourselves, we are doing the work to grow.

Think about it. If you don’t judge and don’t criticize, what you’re saying is, “I’m infinite. I let people be. I have no knowledge about an individual’s evolution. I can’t comprehend if what he is doing is good or evil, right or wrong. He certainly may be acting in a way I would not choose to act, but I cannot lay down the law and say it should be like this or like that.” -Stuart Wilde

I used to get frustrated when people I knew would keep doing the same things, have the same frustrations and keep talking about the same problems over and over. I would judge them for not doing something about those problems. I would get angry at them in my mind for what they chose to do or not do about their situation. I would think “If only they would do this or that, then they would feel better.” Now I am learning to let go of those judgements. They are going through their own evolution. I don’t know the best way for them to resolve their lives. Sometimes they have to have experiences that they live through in order to learn something to help them.

I can offer them compassion. I can listen and hold them in my heart. I can wish them well on their journey. I can say a prayer for their well being. This is the way of non-judgement. I can still catch myself judging from time to time, but I have noticed that I do it less often now. Just like when we judge others, if we catch ourselves judging a situation or a person, we can feel compassion for ourselves and know that we are growing every day.

Not infringing upon people means not interfering, not offering them information they haven’t asked for, not offering them healing they don’t need or want or haven’t requested, not meddling in their lives. It means allowing people to be as silly as they want for as long as they want — in the same way that the God Force allows you to be as silly as you want. You don’t judge. -Stuart Wilde

Non-judgement can be very freeing and very allowing. As we allow ourselves to evolve, grow and learn each day with grace, we can allow others to do the same through non-judgement. When we know that others have to go through their own special way of learning and evolving at the pace that is right for their soul, we can offer them kindness along their path. We can offer a listening ear when they are in pain, offer kindness or a small gift when they are in need. Gentle, kind thoughts sent their way will bring light upon their journey and allow them to become who they are meant to be without interference.

One way I am practicing this is to observe and to greet people with kindness mentally. Just yesterday I was driving to go send a package to a friend, and I saw someone jogging on the street. I had the thought “Wow! Another human being in Earth school.” “He’s learning something from jogging on the sidewalk today and I can wish him well from right here.” It is a beautiful practice to just observe. To watch, to listen and to know that all is right in due time. Sending kindness and love straight from your heart is something you can do all of the time. There is nothing forced about it, and that energy will help raise the energy of those around you.

Learning to not judge experiences or circumstances is another way to focus more on just being in life. When you choose to just observe and know that an experience or something that happens in life just is, it brings you so much freedom. You are letting go of expectations of outcomes, and you are letting go of things being good or bad. They just are.

I used to think that if I wasn’t doing something every waking hour of the day, it wasn’t a productive day. I was judging my time here on Earth and I was judging myself. I used to run around more, in a panic, thinking I was a bad person for not doing more. I wouldn’t allow myself much time off and I always thought I had to try the latest way to “get ahead” in life and in business. Often those ideas were not particularly for me, and they caused me to burn out and get frustrated. In this judgement of time and circumstances I got caught in an endless cycle of running around.

Now, I know that the way that I spend my time is not good or bad, it just is. I can just make a choice, make a commitment, make a promise for a daily practice and leave it at that. I don’t judge myself if things take a little longer, if something doesn’t get the results I wanted or if things don’t turn out according to my expectations. None of those things were bad, they were just on my path to learn from them. As long as I show up every day to work on my purpose, my craft and my daily practice that is all I need to do.

Gradually you’ll learn not to quantify things too much. That way you get to experience life, rather than define it. If you go and watch a movie and you start to quantify it, discussing it with a friend, perhaps, you put it in a little box, and your perception of it changes. -Stuart Wilde

My prayer and intention for you today is to observe life with non-judgement. What do you see? What do you experience? Know that you are here, right at this moment, the perfect moment for you & for everyone on this planet. We are all learning and growing today. Can you offer compassion and kindness to yourself and to others?

How can you offer yourself compassion today?

I am tagging my fellow writers here who are following along on this journey so that I may share this path with them: Aurora Eliam, CMP, Michele Thill, Henery X (long), Terry Mansfield, Amy Marley, Charlotte Zobeir Ali, Taha Abbas, Dr John Rose, Typewriter, Gurpreet Dhariwal, Suntonu Bhadra, KeepingItRealWithAnnick and many more! Thank you Illumination Family!

Trista Signe Ainsworth is a professional organizer with Joyful Minimalism. She helps working women clear the clutter, overwhelm, and shame from their homes and lives so that they can truly live in joy.

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