I stole the quote from @divafeminist so I'm not exactly sure where it comes from. But here goes my response.
I used to be a pretty judgmental person. It was probably the flaw that I hated the most about myself. So through active effort and years of experiences with different types of people as well as my own mistakes and accomplishments I don't think I am as judgmental as I used to be. People are people - imperfect. We do some crazy things no matter how good our initial intentions.
The tricky thing is that one of the things I used to really hate was when people spoke negatively about others. In addition to that, I loathed when people did not actively think about others instead of themselves. I no longer hate nor loathe either because I understand that if someone is spewing out some negative comments there is probably something going on with him or her. Or maybe they just really don't care which is fine as well. I also understand that if I'm not a fan of something, I can just say something instead of sitting there all uncomfortable or annoyed.
Maybe it is because I am the oldest or because I have a mother, who ONLY thinks of others (not an exaggeration), that I really value that ability. Sometimes people need to be selfish for a number of reasons which I understand but I think for the most part we only think in the "I." I'm not saying I am immune to it but I do try to check myself when I'm saying or doing something that might negatively effect someone else. Sure we come into this world alone but we sure don't live it alone. There are people around us - family, friends, strangers etc. I try to remember that people are effected by every move I make whether in a small or big way and this is the case for pretty much everyone. So in light of MLK day, I'm taking the time out to rethink how I interact with people as well as my overall plans in life and try to reevaluate whether I am the only one benefiting in my decisions.
Thinking aloud as always,
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