Before You Judge Someone, You Should Know

Before you judge someone, you should know that they are only providing you with a glimpse of themselves, not their full selves. They are merely showing you what they want you to see, but not the full picture. Not the full truth.

Before you judge someone, you should know that they’ve been through much more than you know. That their scars are hidden. That their wounds are covered. And even though it may seem as though they don’t have a past… They do. We all do.

Before you judge someone, you should know that they are just like you. They’ve experienced love, hurt and all of the colors in-between. Just like you, they’ve been happy, they’ve been sad, they’ve been in love, they’ve been lost. They may not always openly or whole-heartedly show the many sides of themselves, but that does not mean that they do not exist. It just means you have to look harder to see it.

Before you judge someone, you should know that they are extensions of yourself. What you don’t like in someone else, is inherently and exactly what you don’t like within yourself. They are mirror reflections of the ever-changing “you”. The same reflection, shown in a different light, under different circumstances. They are connected to you, like a star amongst the midnight sky. Connected to form the beautiful constellations you see on a clearly painted summer night.

Before you judge someone, you should know that they have dreams, aspirations and goals just like you. They may be starting at a different chapter and at a different stage than you. But at one point or another, they were either just like you, or one day, they will be just like you. That is the irony of it all. We judge others’ stories by the chapter that they’re on, not realizing the story that they are currently writing and the stage that they are currently at, is perhaps the same one as yours.

Before you judge someone, you should know that you would never want to be judged that way. You would never want to be criticized, laughed at, ridiculed, or labeled as an outcast. You would never want to be judged so harshly. But why do we judge others the way we so desperately don’t want to be judged?

We’re so quick to judge, but so delayed to show compassion, understanding, and empathy. The very things that make us brilliantly the same amongst all of our uniqueness and authenticity.

So before you judge, you should know… Compassion is the answer, not the question. For compassion bridges the gap between ourselves and others. Then paves the way for better, more fulfilling relationships that enrich our life, rather than diminish it.

Compassion is the answer, not judgment.