Judge not lest ye be judged.

At first glance this reads as a religious statement or perhaps the lead in to some strong comment chastising others for having made said judgement.

But what if we all read it — and better yet manifested it — as a mantra if you will to release the pain and heaviness that comes with judging others?

And what if we then opened our minds to the concept of ‘there but for the grace of (God, the Universe, Allah, your Higher Power) go I’? The idea that under different circumstances you too – regardless of your beliefs – could have fallen subject to whatever the situation at hand?

And then there is Alexander Pope’s ‘To err is human, to forgive divine’ – a critical concept that BECAUSE be we are indeed human, is easier said than done.

And none of this releases the ‘offender’ of responsibility on their end, but rather puts US in a place of less angst and more peace, thereby making us more approachable, and open. Not to ideals we find deplorable or behaviors less than ideal but to the idea that it is ok to come home – that it is ok to change your mind, admit your mistake or even just shift and soften your views, whichever the case may be.

For at one time or another, we ALL make mistakes. Or change our minds.

And at the end of the day it is far better to ‘judge not lest ye be judged,’ in the knowledge that ‘there but for the grace of god ‘go you’ and that to err is indeed human, to forgive, divine.

Namaste.
See you when you get here

Amy Hege Atwell is the author of 10 Little Rules for Mermaids, available at www.10littlerules.com, on Amazon, on Etsy, and at retail outlets including her shop The Painted Mermaid in Southport, NC.