Judge Not

It went something like this...

My husband and I took Em for a walk to the river near our apartment. When she's not too busy eating them, Em likes to throw (or rather drop) rocks into the water. She's still in the early stages of speaking, where any word she utters is rewarded with clapping and hoorays from her parents. So you can imagine the celebration when she said 'splash.' 

On our way home, we passed some scattered litter, and my husband said something along the lines of, "Who litters anymore?" Just then I spotted a sock that had been run over so many times it was practically part of the dirt road. "Yeah, and who leaves their sock in the road?" I joked.

As I got closer, I realized it was actually a sock inside a pink baby bootie--the very footwear Em had lost on a walk several months ago. So...that's who leaves a sock in the middle of a road.

 We had a hearty laugh, and were reminded why it's not cool to judge others. Let's be honest--it's hard not to judge. Is it in our wiring to assess and pass judgment on everything that passes before our eyes? Maybe. But it's a pattern of thought worth trying to re-wire. I have to constantly remind myself, "To each their own." Or the reverse:

Perhaps as difficult as not judging, is not worrying about being judged. Because whenever you follow your own path, people are bound to talk. The key is learning to tune them out :) (As long as it's not a self-destructive path...)