We've ALL Been There!
Posted on April 06, 2013 by James Singleton, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Read how an embarrassing moment taught me to think before judging others.
It started as the last night on the town in Houston, Texas. After an early evening cocktail party turned into dinner with wine….and dinner with wine turned into late night drinks…the morning after I was turned into a mess. To make matters worse, I had a 10 a.m. flight back to Boston.
The only thing that got me to the airport and my gate on time was prayer. Once on the plane, I took my window seat next to an older woman. And although I was holding on to the arm rests for dear life, the plane cabin would not stop spinning. Then came the cold sweats and the nausea. I put my head between my knees because I started to get dizzy. The woman looked at me and asked, “Are you a nervous flyer?” And I embarrassingly replied, “No, I’m just hungover.”
As the flight attendants prepared the cabin for take-off, I kept wondering what the woman next to me must be thinking. She must be judging me for being completely out of control. She must be judging me for bringing this chaos into her peaceful trip. She must be judging me for taking the Airsickness bag from the seat and disembarking my breakfast. I climbed over her and ran to the bathroom as the plane began to ascend.
Once I regained my composure, I returned to my seat without looking at the woman and stared out the window. I then felt her pat my back and she said, “We’ve all been there.”
Because of her, when I see someone in distress or in the midst of a mistake – I hold my judgment. When I judge, my complete vision and focus is turned to all things outside of myself. I know that judging is used as a defense mechanism so that I don’t have to face what I dislike about myself. I disassociate myself from the humanness that connects me and another person. It’s not only important to understand that we’ve all been there, but it’s also important to understand where that person is coming from.
