I was in need of a piece of black calico fabric for a project I am working on so I stopped at the fabric store where I used to work. As I was making my way towards the door I could hear someone behind me pushing a shopping cart. I decided to turn around to see if I could save them a few steps as I was thinking they had finished their shopping and were simply returning the cart to the store. I wasn’t able to make eye contact so I decided to continue walking up to the door. The guy was walking in the door as I was getting a cart for myself. He put his away and followed me in the door and I thought, “Whatever.” I stopped to look at something and he walked past me. I gave him a glance and immediately wondered, what. is . going. on. here? He was very, very thin. He appeared to be in his late 50’s. He was wearing a white shirt and white pants. Under his shirt you could see a rather vividly printed tank top and just beneath the hem on his somewhat short pants were a pair of lively socks and some royal blue sneakers. He tossed a fake fur squirrel back pack over his shoulder and he was off to search for what brought him to the store. I saw him several times while I was browsing and not once did I see him make eye contact with anyone. Before I left I did see that he had some whimsical fabrics in his arms and it was at that moment my “I don’t need to judge this person” brain kicked in and I thought, if given the chance, wouldn’t this guy be fascinating to visit with. I would be willing to bet I’d learn a lot about living my best life, about not caring what other people think, what they say or what they do and if it suits me that I should most definitely carry my belongings in a fake fur squirrel backpack!

It’s so easy to judge others. We do it automatically. We can instantly pick out what isn’t right rather than what is. Why is this so easy to do? I realize that when we judge we’re making an attempt to boost our own self esteem. And yes, it’s because we all have things about ourselves we simply do not like. I just have to wonder if it’s possible to give that mentality the boot and strive to recognize our authentic and most unique self. Maybe then we could celebrate those that have already figured this out.