Judge Me Not!
By steelers12
@steelers12 (153)
United States
July 24, 2012 8:33am CST
I believe we are all guilty of judging others from time to time and do not have all the facts behind the scenes. As a person who deals with a physical disability and having to fight years for my disability payments to be approved I have heard others say there is nothing wrong with me seeing they could not see the disability.
I am guilty of saying the same of others, seen them doing activities and thought well if they can do that then they can work. Not once though did I ever think of the effect the activity would take upon their bodies later in the day as one does not think of this just only the activity that person is doing at the time.
Now that the shoe is on the other foot I am not as quick to look at others and feel they are not injured just because I am unable to see the injury. I suffer from chronic pain from nerve damage in my knee and having several back surgeries resulting in a spinal fusion. Sure I attempt to do the normal activities one would do daily and there are days the pain gets to me, but I do try not to let it stop me. People might see me mowing my grass, though it is on a riding mower, and say well he is able to do this then he is able to work. What they do not see is that for a few days I suffer and am down not able to do much else.
The medications I have to take daily that have their own effect on me from the different side effects to help me deal with the pain and ease the nerve damage. The devices and limited mobility from the fusion has its own issues to deal with also. So no from now on I do try to take into account the other persons feelings and the effects of an injury, even if not able to be seen, that a person has to deal with. I hope and do pray that others would take into account that the quick offhand remarks are not wise as one someday could find themselves in the same situation and would regret the remarks as I have. As the old saying goes "Walk a mile in my shoes" rings so true and I have had to learn to take the good days with the bad and not let others remarks bother me.
Have you , like me, made a quick remark and came to regret making these remarks?
1 person likes this
3 responses
@succeednow (1633)
• Singapore
24 Jul 12
Hi steelers12,
Yes, I'm sure all of us are guilty of passing quick judgment on others at one time or another. We think that we're right at that moment but sometimes we may not have all the facts and things may not be what they seem. The saying - Do not judge a book by its cover - is so apt! We should refrain from passing unwarranted remarks on others but it's easier said than done. I think one must consciously practise this i.e. not commenting on others' behavior or condition. Hopefully with time we can correct our own behavior. Just my thoughts. Have a nice day.
1 person likes this
@steelers12 (153)
• United States
24 Jul 12
I too do agree that it is so easy to pass a quick judgment upon others and not think before we do. There are many factors that should be taken into consideration before we make these quick judgments. Thank you for your words and honesty on this issue. Let the facts be what we judge and not what we see for the outside appearance might not bear the full truth.
1 person likes this
@nyssa102 (748)
• United States
27 Jul 12
Let me start by saying that it is sad that you are being judged at all. That being said, yes, we all do judge others. It is a beast that needs to be tamed. Tamed not because of religious differences but because we are all broken, and any judgement comes from a wicked sense of superiority. Once that thing that makes us feel superior (power, cash, advantage, etc.) is taken away, we are again, nothing. So the only thing that makes an idiot feel superior are things that are superficial to that person. My belief, is not to judge, though I do it all the time, I do try to temper myself, and really make an effort. I think that judgement is different from disagreeing with another's opinion, to me judgement means looking down upon someone for not getting the same breaks in life that you did. For example, there are people with a 'skinny' gene. I've seen them. We had one in our family that could eat all day long and kept losing weight. but that person would call other people in the family 'fat' and could not understand why they could not lose the weight. That was sick and sad judgement because she was born with a gene, a metabolism that just made her skinny without putting any work into it. It's like someone born into a rich family who never had to work, complaining about one born in a poor family who has to work 3 jobs just to get by.
@steelers12 (153)
• United States
28 Jul 12
How sad it is that people do judge based upon their own status in life. Those who are skinny look at the ones who are not with disgust. The fact that as hard as we try the human side of all of us do tend to look at the faults and misgivings of others. All we can do is strive to be better people and to give all a chance in life, to be more open to others and to live by the Golden Rule.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
25 Jul 12
hi no steelers12 I have not as I have seen how some injuries do not show to our critical eyes and I do not take it for granted that the person is just pretending at all. I have worked in the
medical profession all my life til I retired and I know
all injuries do not show to us injured people. mine do show
but others do not yet they sure have them. we all need to
stop judging people we do not even know.I never do make
those remarks my self.
@steelers12 (153)
• United States
28 Jul 12
Yes all injuries or disabilities are not always on the surface for all to see. There are different ways a person can become disabled and never show it to those around them yet have to deal with it on their own. As you have seen first hand working in the medical field you do see all levels of injuries and disease that people have to deal with. I bless you for your works and for not being so fast to judge others.
