Judgement Day! No, I don’t mean the day you meet your maker or whoever you deem the appropriate greeter when you die. I mean, in our society, it seems like every day is judgement day, whether it’s our own self-judgements or the PERCEIVED judgements of others.
The other day, while sitting with a new friend over coffee, I told him how appreciative I was that he wanted to meet up and talk. I could see the puzzlement in his eyes. Not because of the words I used, but because he felt the realness and sincerity behind them. I asked him why he looked so puzzled.
He bravely said, “Throughout my entire corporate career, no one really says things like that. Everything is always couched in such carefully curated words that lack depth of feeling, that your words took me by surprise.”
I nodded and said, “It’s so sad that we’re so careful, and avoid communicating in a way that is devoid of emotion. Too many men are taught to be cold, detached, and to avoid anything that even approaches vulnerability. I hope you’ll find a way to be courageous enough to bring your whole self to every situation. After all, at this stage of life, who are we trying to impress or protect ourselves from?”
“This is going to take some time to work on,” he said.
We need to free ourselves from our own self-judgements and cast off the perceived judgements of others if we’re to live a rich, satisfying, and honest life.
