Why is it that humans are so inclined to judge one another? What makes it so easy for us to see the faults in others, but often can’t recognize faults in ourselves? I think the answer is pretty simple. I think most of us can’t seem to find the courage to explore ourselves truthfully and confront the shadow parts of who we are. We don our outer masks in hopes that no one will see our faults, failings, and imperfections, momentarily believing we are alone in our flaws and weaknesses.

We are all quite clever at metamorphosizing into different versions of ourselves depending on the person or persons we are with. The other thing to remember is that we cannot see in others what does not exist within us. So, if we criticize others for being judgmental, that negative tendency most likely exists within us as well. We are simply refusing to do the inner work in order to realize and confront the fact that at times we may have acted in this way as well. We must get to know our immortal soul to be able to live authentically and to create a life that will bring us peace, contentment, and a true sense of purpose.

Why is this so important to recognize and understand? Well, here’s an example. We’re going on a job interview so that we can make more money and evolve and grow within our career. We think, from a physical perspective that these things will make our lives much better. We can then buy the beautiful house we long for, the brand-new expensive car, and be able to go on wonderful vacations. Our lust for material comforts overpowers the voice of our soul urging us to remember that this home and all of its earthly treasures are temporary, and that our soul’s love and truth must be front and center in all of our choices.

So, we go on the interview, meet the person who will decide our fate and after a few minutes our intuition tells us exactly what the is person wants to hear in order to hire us. We begin to deviate from our authentic self and put on the appropriate mask and get to work. The problem is that what we are saying and how we are coming across is not in alignment with our spiritual energy or with who we authentically are. We’re like actors in a play. Our plan worked! We got the job! However, once we begin working for this person or company, we find that we can’t keep up the façade. We begin trying to simply be ourselves and present to the people around us who we truly are, our real personality along with our genuine soul energy.

Is that not a good thing? No, it is a good thing in the long run. In the short term, however it may not be. The person who hired us, it turns out, doesn’t line up with our energy. They may begin to judge us because we may be a mirror for them for who they are not and may wish to be. They may start finding fault with everything we do, and we feel unappreciated or misunderstood. We may even begin to judge ourselves and get lost in self-doubt and self-judgement. We try harder to be what they want us to be, but it becomes impossible to continue pretending we are something we are not.

Eventually, when we return home to ourselves and spend time within the temple of our soul’s light, we remember how beautiful and transcendent we are, just as we all are. We come to a point where we understand that being authentic and true to ourselves is the only path that will lead to attracting and allowing certain people and situations into our lives that will reflect the love and appreciation that we have for ourselves.

This realization does not mean that the person who hired us is a bad person. It simply means that, at this point in time, our soul’s energies are incompatible, and that we are most likely at different points in our soul’s evolution. We can then move on without judgement or repudiation, but simply with a heart and mind that wishes the people who we chose to leave behind nothing but happiness and peace.

By the way, we can interchange this work situation with romantic relationships, and we will find the same truth. When we try to be what we believe our romantic interest wants us to be, the relationship will most likely end in failure. We again, eventually can’t keep up the misrepresentation of who we want them to believe we are. Our partner, then finds themselves having fallen in love with someone who isn’t real, a stranger.

Hopefully, these kinds of experiences finally teach us we’ve had enough failures and tough lessons from our disingenuous behavior, and we then commit ourselves to simply being who we are with all of our faults and shortcomings, along with our fantastical qualities and our beautiful hearts and souls. We understand that looking for the faults in others and bringing attention to them, is an indication that our self-love meter has gone a bit haywire, and our powerful and essential ego is rearing its sometimes-fearful head. This may happen again from time to time because we are human as well as divine. The difference is that we now immediately recognize our misstep and take a moment to self-correct.

The point is that seeking to discover who we truly are with fear, and believing we will find a person not worthy of the love, kindness, and compassion from others is the farthest thing from the truth. We have nothing to fear. What exists in that sacred and immortal space within is nothing but pure mystical and magnificent light, and unconditional and eternal love. When we realize, that is who we really are, we begin to live that truth and inspire others to do the same. We find that we do not even have to explain who we are, for our authentic and breathtaking light shines forth like the aurora borealis, or the brightest star in the darkest night sky. In fact, it becomes our North star always guiding us home to ourselves and eventually home to the arms of our loving creator.

I’ll bid you all adieu, as I leave with a stanza from the great Billy Joel’s song, The Stranger. He speaks about this topic so poetically.

Well we all have a face

That we hide away forever

And we take them out

And show ourselves

When everyone is gone

Some are satin some are steel

Some are silk and some are leather

They’re the face of the stranger

But we love to try them on