SELF REFLECTION
Into the Shadows of Judgment, We Sink
The hidden price of passing judgment
Whenever someone was bothersome,
I gave them the label “annoying.”
Whenever someone was rude,
I gave them the tag “arrogant.”
Whenever someone was angry,
I gave them the title “short-tempered.”
Little did I know that by assigning tags and labels,
I was judging everyone.
Over time, giving tags and labels
became as common as giving trinkets.
It was my natural reaction to every problem I faced.
The more tags and labels I gave,
the more baggage I accumulated.
The more “arrogant” or “short-tempered” people I met,
the more I struggled to maintain my balance.
Little did I think,
why I was reacting to his displeasure.
Little did I think,
why I was reacting to her imbalance.
Little did I think,
why my instinctive response was not kindness.
Had I been more curious about the other person
instead of giving them a label,
I’d have been more understanding.
Had my locus of control been internal and not external,
I’d have been responding instead of reacting.
Had I focused on healing my inner self
with every hurt and letdown,
I’d have found the source of my agony.
Only I have not done that.
Judgment branched out, and
the roots penetrated deep within.
I’ve grown accustomed to seeing the negatives.
I was not wary of the perils of judgment.
I’d become critical of everyone and myself.
The further I dwelled on others’ flaws,
the farther they ingrained themselves in me.
For every inconvenience,
I am irritated because they are irresponsible.
For every mishap,
I am furious because they are inept.
For every mistake they made,
I slipped out of control because they were incompetent.
I morphed into the very person, I judged everyone by.
Note : Most of the lines are based on my observations of others and my own experiences, but for other lines, I took the creative liberty to envision the extreme repercussions of judgmentalism.
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