Learning not to judge
There is ample room to learn how to be discerning in life and if there were a list of desires I would like my child to learn, one would be knowing how to discern what is best for them and others. But unfortunately, a lot of times it takes choosing poorly to get to choosing wisely. And a lot of times when we sit in judgment of others it is also out of ignorance or lack of empathy or sometimes as in my case, fear.
So when I was speaking to the medical professionals about my mother, I didn’t speak in judgment of the fact that she drinks, I asked questions about how the drugs prescribed to her might be affected by alcohol. And then we were able to have a conversation where the nurses and doctors weren’t judging my mother but rather thinking about how how to help her.
Today’s meditation from the Tao te Ching comes from Page 5:
The Tao doesn’t take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn’t take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.
The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to the center.