Of late, I find myself beginning to understand people better. I am able to see motivations and impulses and understand them. There was a time when I took everything at face value. Then I moved towards being judgmental. Now, I am working on moving towards compassion. I have miles to go before I learn not to judge. But I think I’ve made a start.
A rabbi asked his students this question: “How can we determine the hour of dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?”
One student answered, “When from a distance you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep.”
The rabbi said, “No, that is not the answer.”
Another student said, “Is it when one can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?”
The rabbi once again answered, “No.”
After many students attempted to answer the question without success, the students begged the rabbi to tell them the answer. The wise rabbi said, “You can tell when the night ends and the day begins when you can look into the eyes of human beings and you have enough light inside of you to recognize them as your brothers or sisters. Until you can do that, it is night, and darkness is still with you.”
~ Hasidic story
For me, the day is beginning….What’s it like for you?
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What a beautiful story. It certainly makes me think. I know I have so so far to go before I succeed in not judging others…I know where I want to be eventually but I am by no means there yet.:) It’s kind of like our default setting, isn’t it? You have good intentions but it is just so easy to slip into a judgmental rather than compassionate attitude toward others.
Thanks for this wonderful story which has a very deep message. Corinne, learning to understand people is something that comes when one begins to have great compassion and love that is able to see beyond the most obvious. I am still learning, Corinne and I don’t know when I will finally be able to say that now I know.
Joy always,
Susan
I am yet to learn a lot of things Corinne..but as it is said the best part is atleast I know I need to learn 🙂
I still take things at face value because of which I generally end up with a lot of hurt. Most of the times it is unnecessary and something I could have avoided. But thanks to my over emotional nature I get all that. I trust easily, I love easily,I care easily and hence maybe I hurt easily too!
Lovely story…thanks for sharing!
Will be there with me for a long time <3
Nice one again.
What an inspirational story you’ve shared here, Corinne! May we all grow more compassionate and less judgmental every day. 🙂
Blessings!
Such a great story Corinne. So glad you shared it with us this morning 🙂 Cheers, Jenn
That’s beautiful. Isn’t it true that eyes are the windows to our soul? They show the real state we are in.
Lovely story Corinne. Each day is a new beginning full of promise and hope 🙂
Beautiful story to lighten up the day.
Awesome story!
Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Good one, Corinne.
As always, you never cease to inspire us, Corinne…
And that story is just so amazing.. the profound meaning in it hits the right note in the heart. Darkness, truly, resides inside hearts, even educated ones. 🙁
Beautiful story and beautiful picture!!
Thank you for repeating that story. I had forgotten it and could not remember the “answer.” Lovely.
What a great story, Corinne. Wise words. Thanks.
Oh Corinne, how true that we should stop being judgmental. It is our ego that makes it so and make us think we are invincible and right. Compassion can take care of it, but again, one has to kill the ego before compassion can be enthroned in our hearts. What a lovely story that was!
Beautiful and so very true. This is something we all struggle with, you have been so accepting and understanding of me and my issues, I find it difficult to believe you are only just learning compassion. You are truly a gem.
So beautiful, Corinne. I loved the story and it is so true. Like you I too am trying to look at people with compassion and it does help understand why people do what they do without being judgmental about them.
Wow..I love the story you tell at the end of the post. It’s definitely exciting and liberating to be able to see people from a broader perspective and understand them more fully. I’ve been practicing mindfulness for awhile and I think that practice has really helped me with that. We are always at the beginning of our journeys…So, I too, have a long way to go…But relationships and interactions definitely become more fulfilling..and conflicts are easier to avoid and reconcile, when we learn to view a person or event with more objectivity.
What a beautiful story and such a profound message!
I love the story!! so true!
my heart is filled with love — thank you! xoxoxo
Compassion is far better than judging. I believe living is how we learn to stop judging, those of us who do learn. Some will spend their entire lives judging others and feeling superior and I have compassion for those. They are missing so much in life because compassion will show you the realness of the people you encounter and magnify itself continuously in your life.
I love this.
You are always so insightful.
I began to understand that life is about perspective when I became a parent. My children, my house—my life–presents in a way that could be judged far from what it actually is. In that regard, life with special needs has given me clarity.
Lovely post Corinne. A step taken in the right direction is always a good beginning.
Beautiful! What a perfect post for this week’s prompt!
I really enjoyed this one, Corinne. Thought-provoking.
And seeing a ‘saint’ in each of them… I guess that’s how I should treat everyone I encounter ~ always with fresh eyes, with renewed heart ecause everybody is capable of change…