On Being Non-judgmental and Understanding Humanity

On Being Non-judgmental and Understanding Humanity

Being non-judgmental is easier said than done as a human being. We’re primed to be judgmental; it helps us survive in a world full of uncertainty and danger. Our judgments keep us safe most of the time, but they also keep us caged.

The question is, how do we balance our ability to judge while still remaining compassionate?

Judgment occurs when we are faced with something we don’t understand. It happens when we start categorizing things, people, or events from a dualistic perspective to simplify them and try to understand them. Judgment happens when something is beyond our capacity to comprehend, and we place certain things beneath us. It occurs when we perceive ourselves as more or less. This is when judgment cages us.

This is typically how it works: We condemn something because we do not see our humanity in it. We accept something because a part of us resonates with it.

The beauty of being human lies in our complexities. We are taught to see life in a dualistic, black-and-white perspective, but we are more than that. Our humanity resides within the gray and the spectrum of colors between complete light and darkness.

The answers are always within how we view ourselves and how we relate to the world around us. When we truly understand who we are, what we are capable of, and our role in this life, we can reflect this wisdom onto others. After all, we only judge what we don’t understand and haven’t accepted yet about the truth of who we are and what we can be as humans.

Being non-judgmental is not the absence of judgment; it is opening up our perspectives and being completely present with what we are witnessing without immediately having to result in minimizing or maximizing any of it.

It takes patience and curiosity to create balance. It takes each one of us being connected to our own truth and our intuition to find balance and peace among each other.

And the truth is, at the core of our humanity, we are all the same. The work lies in finding and connecting to our sameness, not judging each other for our differences.