Judgment – Dawn Lupul

Some see a filthy pigeon, others see a beautiful bird. In reality, it is just life

We are natural judges. It’s not always a bad thing – in fact, we need to be quick to judge as a matter of survival. Walking into a situation and knowing whether you need to run away or run towards it is a good thing. Being able to judge someone quickly and determine if they are friend or foe is a necessity.

But it can also be a huge detriment. Because we have this innate ability to judge, we also use it in ways that have nothing to do with survival. We can look at another person and judge them based on what they are wearing, how they walk, what they look like, or any number of things. We judge whether they are the same as us or different, and if they are different then we may use the judgment to be cruel.

Me four years ago. Not me anymore. Everything has changed except the name

When you meet someone for the first time, what is your line? Who do you declare yourself to be?

In other words, what is the image of yourself that you present to the world?

Who we are, and who we believe we are, seem like the same thing but that is not necessarily so. We identify with certain groups, be it ethnic, career-related, geographical or perceived class. Most of these identifications were beliefs that we adopted as dictated by the consensus opinion.

For example, I am a writer because I write. When I tell people I am a writer, they have their own preformed judgments as to what this looks like. I had my idea of what it was supposed to look like too, but I have since abandoned those notions.

It actually never looks the same on any given day. Some days the words flow easily and I feel quite accomplished, and other days I look at what I wrote and wonder why it is so bad. I write every day but only on some days do I feel like a writer.

Tag: Judgment

#7 Suspend Judgment

Identity