Judge A Little Less, Love A Little More...

Hello there,

I hope all is well for you! :)

With last weekend being LDS Conference and April just beginning, my brain has been filled to the brim with new motivation, new goals, and new plans.  I just love that feeling! :)

Today I wanted to share something that has been on my mind lately.  

I don't know if my sensitivity to the world around me has increased, or if I am now just starting to pay attention ...but I can't help but notice how negative towards each other us humans can be sometimes.

As life has presented me with challenges - many of them caused by my name being the topic of a conversation - I have struggled to understand why someone would wish the pain and suffering caused by their actions or words upon someone else.  I then began to think about all the things that I have said about others... 

 Was I a catalyst amidst their trial?

I have decided to take a step back and to re-evaluate my attitude and actions towards those around me. What I say about them, my thoughts towards them, even what my body language says to them.  

Might as well try to learn something good from a not so good situation right? :)

I have decided to judge a little less, and love a little more.

I know how it feels to hear the things that have been spoken about you.  Everything comes out in the open at one time or another and there is not an ounce of truth in the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."  Words do hurt, especially words that are untrue and completely unnecessary.  The only thing that has kept me strong in moments where I have wanted to be anything but - is the simple fact that I know the truth.  Rumours are spread by those who think they know - whether it be something they heard or something they made up...that is why they are called rumours.

  We can not mistake rumours for facts.

I thought long and hard about this.  How do we make sure that what we are saying is a fact?  Well the solution is actually quite simple.

We just don't say anything at all.

Nine times out of ten the situation has nothing to do with us. It does not effect us in any way, and our day wouldn't have gone any different had we not heard it in the first place. If the person wanted us to know they would have told us themselves.

I am sure we have all heard this a million times - I am not the first person to have this epiphany and I surely won't be the last. But when you are standing on the opposite side of the fence - the victim to what feels like fiery darts from the world - there is nothing you want to do more then to stand up for yourself. Sad thing is...you can't. It is nearly impossible for one person to stop the words of many.  So I will just say this.

Until we have walked in the person's shoes - felt their pain, lived in their minds, experienced their highs and their lows, fought their battles, felt them cry, or felt them laugh - we have no right to judge. We have no right to tell their story. That is their right.  If they want their story told, they will tell it.

If this world put half the effort into lifting people up as it does putting them down - it would be incredible place. 

It often already is, thanks to those who choose to uplift and inspire instead of demean and destroy. 

 I know many who instantly brighten my day just by their presence! These people make a daily effort to only see the good in people.  I have been inspired to become more like them - and to follow the example that they have humbly set for me.  I have challenged myself to find the good in others and to allow them to tell their own stories.  I have also challenged myself to love those that hurt me - I have found that for me this is so much easier said then done - but I know it is necessary.  I have experienced the internal peace and  rich blessings that come from forgiving those that have wronged you.   

I challenge you to join me! 

Lets make the world a happier, more positive place to be. Lets stop rumours in their tracks and choose to change the subject.  Set the example for your children now and they will do it for theirs in the future.

Simply judge a little less, and love a little more! :)

With love,

Dakota