Since this is my first blog post and it's a real class assignment, I feel very self conscious about my grammar. It's for a grade and the whole class gets to read it and they're supposed to judge me? Yikes! How am I doing Dr. M?
Speaking of judging, first impressions have been on my mind a lot recently. All my life, I've been told that I shouldn't judge people, but that's kind of difficult. Judgment is part of human nature, right? At times, it's even necessary for survival, right? If I'm walking down a street at 2 AM and a possibly shady character is heading toward me, I'll probably cross the street so I don't get shivved. That person might be the nicest guy in the world, but my instincts tell me to scram. Did I judge? Yeah, but it was for my own peace of mind. So here's a little conclusion for you: There's a difference between being judgmental and using your judgment (I'm sure all of you have thought this before, but sometimes I come to these small epiphanies where I gain a deeper understanding of a cliche I've always heard and I guess this was one of those times).
So. Using your judgment to keep you safe/healthy/happy = good! Being judgmental = bad. Glad we covered that.
I've noticed that there's also this judging-limbo-thing that isn't necessarily good or bad. I meet someone and make an assumption about him or her, be it positive, negative, or neutral, and it's almost always incorrect. I find that usually when I think we'll be great friends, we aren't, and when I think we won't be friends at all, we get really close. That was the case with the last two sets of my roommates. As I look back on most of the relationships and encounters I've had with people in my late teens and early twenties, this seems to be the case. I misjudge. Talking to others about this topic, I've come to another conclusion that usually, everyone's first impressions of people are usually incorrect to some degree.
People are so complex. I find myself (and others) labeling everyone, but that's not a wise thing to do. We are a fluid species, constantly changing our emotions, abilities, and personalities. Additionally, being LDS, I believe that human beings are the literal children of God and they have the potential to become like Him. That being said, how can a man be labeled by a single feature, when that feature is only a small portion of his entire existence? I guess what I'm trying to say is this: giving someone a label is like putting them in a box and refusing to let them out. Labels hinder growth and growth is the purpose of being alive. From now on, when I meet someone new, I'm going to try to keep an open mind and observe them, but not place a label on them. For the people who I already know, I'm going to rip off the labels I've placed on them. I think that breaking that binding will allow them to flourish a little bit more and everyone deserves room to grow.
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ReplyDeleteVery insightful Lindsay. I would say Londsay, but we'll keep this formal here. You bring up a good point here about putting people into groups, labels, or boxes as you put it, and the detrimental effects that it can have on society. Saying that someone can't change goes against everything that we believe in as a religion. Men can change. In Thomas S. Monson's talk "See Others as The May Become" Monson describes a story of an encounter a prison warden had. "During the 1940s and 1950s, an American prison warden, Clinton Duffy, was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. Said one critic, “You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!”
ReplyDeleteReplied Warden Duffy, “You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.”
I think this talk goes hand in hand with what you're talking about. We should see others as equal with different abilities and talents, but remember that anyone can change. This post helped me remember that we all need to work together, and become a better society.