Ahhh, Lent. Similar to New Year's Resolutions, except this one only lasts 40 days and you have the wrath of God to contend with. Yet, most cheat or fail or don't do anything at all. That's fine. I get it. Why make a change, either big or little, that isn't going to last longer than six weeks? I understand that Lent makes it attainable, but if you are giving something up, it typically isn't something that is good for you--drinking alcohol, eating sweets. You never hear of someone giving up exercise or saying "I'm gonna spend LESS time with my family." Those are things we strive to do more of.
When I was growing up, I would give up all sorts of stuff. TV, candy, the radio--I grew up in the pre-PC era, so that wasn't an option. My Comodore 64 wasn't something that was give-up worthy! My mom never gave anything up. Still doesn't. She always said "I'm just going to try to be a better person." I would laugh. What a cop out. I remember thinking, she's already a good person.
Now that I'm, ahem, older, I get that. I didn't give anything up for Lent. I'm trying to be less judgemental. I don't think I'm all that judgemental anyway, but I wonder if that is akin to the person you meet who emphaticcaly says "I'm not hard to get along with." When, in reality, they are impossible to get along with!
I have personal circumstances that I believe make me more open to the when's and why's of things going on around me, but I still carry negative thoughts and judge, if even in my own head. A person dressed shabily meandering down the street. The young mother buying cigarettes with her baby in hand.
I'm trying to remind myself that we all have crap. A ton of crap at times, to deal with. And we all deal in different ways. Maybe the shabby dressed man is just that...not homeless, not a loser, just not as vain as the rest of us. Or maybe he is disabled. Maybe that young mother is trying to quit smoking and has cut back and on the brink of kicking the habit altogether. Maybe she isn't the baby's mother at all!
We automatically see a quasi-negative situation and think the worst. What would happen if we thought the best? Gave people the benefit of the doubt? I've learned in my life that I can't judge. I'm judged everyday on aspects that I try to append and make better, or on circumstances I have no control over. I dont' like it.
What gives me the power or right to bestow that judgment on someone else?
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