No, I’m not a religious fanatic, but this is a good comeback when you are criticized by someone who is. It’s also one of my favorite quotes because it is excellent advice. Unfortunately most of us fail to heed it.
I’m not really surprised that our society is so judgmental. But I am surprised that the community on this board is. After all, we all share a common interest in an area that is often looked down upon by much of mainstream society. So you’d think that we would all band together and be each other’s biggest supporters. Instead what I see on this board is criticism of those who are somehow different in one way or another.
Why have we become so judgmental? Because we’ve been taught that it makes us feel superior. We think, “I’m right and he’s wrong, so I’m better than him.” But this “right-better” model hasn’t served us well. This kind of thinking fosters hatred between us. It is how terrorists justify killing. It is what causes most wars. We’d rather be right than be happy.
Thinking we’re “better” is a value judgement. The trouble is that no two of us have the same values system and thus we’ll never agree who is “better.” We all have different values, rules and standards because we all have different experiences. In truth there is no “better,” there is only “different.”
And shouldn’t we celebrate differences rather than argue about them? Don’t these differences make life more interesting? Can you imagine a world where we all thought alike? Would you want to live there? Wouldn’t we all be better off if we replaced “I’m right, I’m better than you” with “neither of us is right or wrong, we’re just different” ? If we replaced criticism and hatred with understanding and respect for each other?
Try this experiment. The next time someone says or does something that would ordinarily annoy you, instead of thinking, “what a jerk,” try thinking, “how can I help this person, what can I learn here.” For example, if you’re a dancer, maybe you patiently and caringly explain to the customer why what he’s asking or doing is inappropriate for you and you offer some alternative suggestion, such as introducing him to another girl who may be more to his liking. Chances are he’s treating you with little respect because he expects the same from you. Show him he’s wrong and maybe he’ll become a different person. Do this consistently for a month, I guarantee it’ll change your life.



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you have a point, and I share your thoughts on the subject often when reading posts here. My thoughts:







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