“Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.” Scottish Proverb
DO NOT JUDGE.
I believe this is the message here. We easily make judgements on appearances and are probably always loosing out on the potential richness that is under the surface. We do this, not only with other people and things, but also with ourselves.
How often have you told yourself you can’t do something, the reason isn’t important; guaranteed your failure and limited your growth-learning because you simply didn’t try? Possibility is what’s underneath. Learning is always under the surface. The richness of the situation is always deeper down. Think of an orange or a banana. The skin is bitter, but what’s underneath it is bliss to our tastebuds. In the case of an orange, it often feels like we are eating sunshine that spreads through our whole bodies. We would never know that bliss, if we stopped at the skin.
If you are judging everything through the lens of success and failure, then you are only looking at the skin of the situation. Underneath there is awareness, understanding, learning, change, growth, improvement, direction, correction, and purpose development.
When I read this quote, a flood of competing thoughts and examples nearly overwhelmed me. I almost stopped listening to the thoughts and feelings. Then I let them sink in and I followed them inward. Slowly some dropped off at different levels of meaning and importance to me. Finally, I came to see my truth, as it stands at this moment in time. Judgement is a barrier to greater understanding. I must look past judgement to get it.
