If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
mage courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I hear it all the time. “What is this world coming to?” Heck, I’ve even said it. Some variation of it even. Things like, “What ever happened to customer service?” Times have changed. The world in general seems like a very negative place? Or is it?
Are we really living in that different of a world, or is it just that with technology we are more aware of it? Or is it our own outlook on things is so negative.
I’m not gonna lie, I can be a very negative person. I have judged actions of other people (parents especially) time and time again. The older I get the more I realize what good does it do me? Honestly, I could really care less how someone parents their child unless of course it begins to effect me in some way. Or unless they are being a hypocrite. Can’t stand a person who makes a huge deal about what someone chooses to do with their child and then turns around and does the same thing. In that case I wouldn’t really say I’m judging their actions as a parent and more the fact that they give people grief for doing exactly what they do.
But I really don’t think things have changed all that much. There has always been rude inconsiderate people. People who break the law. People who think the world owes them something. I don’t believe though that per capita it’s any more than it ever was. In general I do think most people intend to do good. And I think sometimes that parent we’re passing judgment on because I would never do something like that might just be an overtired sleep deprived person with the weight of the world on their shoulders. And we don’t know what we would do if we were in their shoes.
We Just Don’t Know What’s Happening In Others Lives
My good friend Renee who blogs over at My Special Ks shared a story once about a woman who left her newborn baby in the car. It was actually a case of mistaken identity where the owner of a certain mini van was called to the courtesy desk and Renee thought it was hers. She got up there and as they were talking to her and asking her if she forgot anything in her van another woman came running up.
Turned out it was her van. She had a carriage with some items in it and a toddler in tow. Turned out it was her who left her baby in the car. And Renee’s first reaction is how does someone do that? We’re all probably thinking that. Then Renee thought about all of the sleep deprived nights she had with a newborn. She thought about how when she had her youngest her middle daughter was just beginning Cancer treatment. How easy would it have been for her to be absent minded at that time?
We have all done things in a moment of weakness that we wish we hadn’t done. And while we shouldn’t ever ignore the baby or child who was left in the car maybe we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about a parent or person. Yes, there are parents out there who would leave their child in the car and think nothing of it. But unless we know for a fact that this person does that (like this wasn’t our first run in at Target where this woman left her newborn in the car), why do we judge? What good does it do? It just makes us angry thinking about these parents who we don’t think are worthy of having children. And it’s a stranger we probably will never see again so it’s not like your judgment of them is going to make them change. In Renee’s case that mother had to talk to the police and she might have had a visit from protective services. It was her job to prove that this was just an accident.
If our own children are with us, yes we want to teach them to do the right thing and report something like that, but we also want to teach them empathy for a fellow human being. That person has enough to deal with, she doesn’t need the judgment of a stranger, or thousands of strangers if you choose to share it with the world.
So Here’s My Challenge…
I want you to think twice before you jump to judgment of that stranger whom you witness doing something inconsiderate or absent minded. Take the time to do the right thing and then tell your children I hope everything is okay with that person. She must have a lot going on in her life right now.
And while you’re giving out empathy for the strangers you come across in your life why not come over to my Facebook Fan Page this month and share some empathy with some loss moms? Because this month I am sharing pictures and dates of loss of loss moms angel babies in honor of my own angel Celeste Alia.
If you’re a loss mom and would like your baby to be a part of this, I’m still accepting submissions. Just email me at [email protected] with the subject Stillborn Photos. It would be my pleasure to include your angel.
I think the less judgment we pass over our fellow human the less cynical we will be of this world. And ultimately that will make us happier. So are you up for this challenge? Will you come by my Facebook wall and share some support for some loss moms?
