What You See Is Not Always What It Is
Things are not always what they appear. So, do not judge anything. You never know the other side of reality.
We often see the world through the glasses of our own perception. Our rational mind judges what it sees in the outer world and gives its own meaning using the beliefs and experiences we have accumulated over the years.
We often see people smiling, laughing and having fun, and we start judging their life. We think about how good is their life. We think about how happy and joyful their life is. And then we think about our circumstances and ponder over all the reasons why our life is not good enough and not that happy.
We tend to judge people with their external behaviors.
But sometimes, you can’t even imagine what they are going through internally and what situations they have been facing all over. It could be far more beyond what we can ever imagine. As William Shakespeare quoted,
All that glitters is not gold.
Let me share with you a small story. It was a warm sunny morning, and Jack was driving his car as he was on his way to attend a business meeting while a piece of soft music was playing in the car. Suddenly, a car came rushing from behind and almost missed Jack’s car by a couple of inches as it overtook in a very rash manner. Jack somehow saved the accident, but he could not believe what had happened. He was very upset and fuming with anger.
Jack decided to speed up and follow that car to teach that car driver a lesson. A little way further, there was a hospital. And that car stopped in front of the hospital gate, and the man rushed his way into the hospital. Jack parked his car, chased that man quickly, started screaming at him angrily and explained how he had avoided the accident.
The man kindly apologized and explained that his son was in that hospital and was taking his last few breaths as his eyes got tearful. He wept and said he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his son. Listening to his, Jack realized how rude he was to that man and how he judged that person to be a bad driver. Jack was disappointed, and he felt regret about his behavior with that man. Jack solaced the man and sympathized with him, and then left quietly.
As Wayne Dyer said,
Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.
Our mind is a meaning-making machine, and we give meaning to everything that we see and experience in our life. But things are not always what they appear. Sometimes the reality is entirely different.
We can never know the pain hidden behind the glorious smile.
So, never judge anyone and accept everyone as they are. Everyone is going through some pain that you never know or have any idea about. Be kind to people, always. Be the reason for someone’s smile. Be compassionate with everyone. Kindness doesn’t cost you and can make a difference in someone else’s life.