Based on our family history, biology, viewpoints and DNA, we seem to come packaged with pre-set judgments about right and wrong, black and white. However, maturity involves stepping out of that pre-set thinking and into someone else’s shoes. When I practice this, my heart softens towards someone I may not have been able to understand or relate to. And when I take the time to imagine what life might be like for that person, that they may have different values than mine, then I can see what motivates them, different from me, and see possibly why they act and speak as they do. It helps me become more inclusive, helps me feel a sense of connection with that person that I didn’t have before. This, I know, I need to do more often and know that our world will benefit from it. I am experiencing community instead of exclusion!
When I step out of my shoes and into someone else’s, the filters through which I see are now different. Perhaps now the main filter is safety or security. Now I can understand someone else by seeing through their filters and not judging them.
It is so easy to walk through life with your own set of filters/beliefs/judgments; it requires consciousness to step past them, even temporarily! I vow to do my best in this regard.
Please share what qualities and attributes you feel are necessary for being the best version of yourself. I really want to know. Thank you for reading this and being part of the solution!
