Judgment and Compassion

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Thoughts are the most essential aspect of our experiences.  In other words, our thoughts define our experience of life.  However, thoughts do not reflect true reality.  Rather, thoughts are our interpretation of reality.  What we experience as a reality is the projections of our thoughts, meaning our minds.

Nothing in the universe has inherent meaning.  It is our minds that create the meaning of our experiences.  We empower our lives when we take charge of the meaning that we give to our experiences.

Let’s say that I am driving on the freeway, and another driver cuts me off.  I could respond by getting angry and cursing the other driver.  I could also have thoughts about the other driver, such as:

• “They are so rude!”
• “They are so reckless!”
• “They are so selfish; they only care about themselves.”

However, I am not considering something.  What if:

• The other driver is going through hard times and was just not thinking when he cut me off.
• It was just a mistake; it was not intentional.
• The other driver got news of an urgent matter and was not thinking when he cut me off.

So, which of these thoughts most accurately reflects the reality of the situation?  I will probably never know the answer to that question, but that does not mean the question is not important. 

The thoughts that I have of the other driver have a ripple effect that reverberates throughout my life.  Internally, my negative thoughts will activate a stress response in my body that puts my body into fear mode.  My heart rate and blood pressure will go up, and I will lose mental clarity.  Externally, my anger will permeate my words and actions with others, including those that I love and care about.

What about the possibilities that I did not consider, like the other driver is going through hard times?  While such thinking may not be true, the causes created by this kind of thinking do not activate my body’s stress response.  Instead, I am expressing compassion for the other driver.  By being compassionate in my thinking, I support the well-being of myself and those around me.

So, we have a choice.  We can be judgmental or compassionate.  What we choose to think may not make a difference in the actual situation that triggered our emotional reaction.  However, it can make a definite difference in the quality of our own lives moving forward.

The mind and body are not separate, and our thoughts set causes into motion that impact both.  Further, our thoughts impact our reality.  You can take charge of your life by becoming the gatekeeper to the thoughts that enter your consciousness.  By learning to allow compassionate thoughts to enter our minds while keeping judgmental thoughts out, we become the masters of our minds.  Learning to master your ability to be compassionate brings life-changing benefits.