Judgement: the Enemy of Compassion

There is an epidemic in our society. That epidemic is one of judgement. Many believe that judgment has a place in helping people to navigate the unknown waters of modern life. I say they are wrong. Compassion is what is needed most often.

When people think of judgement what they are mostly referring to is discernment. Discernment is how we tell what is right from what is wrong. It is how we choose which is the proper course on which to set our way in the world. On the other hand, judgement is how we perceive these events. Whether they are good or bad is a perception of what has happened as a result of our actions.

This is in contrast to compassion which is also a perception, but it is a perception viewed through the lens of love. When we are compassionate we withhold our judgement to view ourselves and those around us through the eyes of our spiritual nature. In our spiritual nature we are in union with the energy or life force of God. Clothed in this perception we see that all are in union with us, and separation is a false view upheld by judgement.

As we journey through our lives we come to realise that we only move in one direction. That direction is forward. Now, there are many paths that we can take, but they all lead to the same destination. Some paths will take longer than others, and each will have varying amounts of joy and pain. They will have different lessons for us to learn and experiences for us to go through. But ultimately the journey will come to an end in this reality.

As we come to forks in the road we have choices to make. Some will make us feel small and cramped and less energetic. Others will fill us with a feeling of expansion and life. It is my wish that everyone choose the path of more life and more joy. And for this we need to be able to discern what causes our energy to shrink and what causes our energy to expand.

Judgement is a process that can only be applied to events that have already occured. It is a biased view of the results produced by past decisions. This forces a schism between us and the unity of the universe. We then use this judgment to label ourselves and others. But these labels do not define who we are. You are an infinite being having a human experience. What is mostly lacking is the ability to discern which path will lead to the results that we desire.

Most people use their judgement of the past as their compass to navigate the present into the future. But the past is just a map of where we have been and how we got to where we are now. That map does not define the present, nor does it point to the direction of the future we wish to achieve. Therefore judgement is a poor compass.

Compassion is always expansive. The goal of love is always more abundance and more freedom. It leads to the most life filled future. This is what makes compassion the best tool with which to navigate our present.

In order to truly embrace compassion, we must be able to accept the unity of all creation. Man and the universe are but one entity, and all exist within and as part of God. In this way we are able to love all beings and all mankind. This is why all of the great spiritual leaders have always commanded us to love not only God but each other because God is a part of us all. Therefore, all are deserving of love including you.

With compassion comes forgiveness. Forgiveness is simply the releasing of resentment. This is a topic for a later article, but it bears mentioning because compassion and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin.

At the level of spirit all is in unity with God. We are spirit having a human experience. There are many roads on this journey of life. With compassion we can discern which roads will expand our spirit and which will constrict. Judgment can only be applied to the past and forces separation.

Remember when practicing compassion, we must also apply it to ourselves. It is to our own lives that we make our harshest judgements. We are not defined by our outcomes. We are bigger than that.

I love you and keep dreaming.