Practicing Apathy and Denouncing A Judgmental Attitude

Life is sometimes best described as an absolute roller coaster. It sometimes reaches the highest of highs and sometimes, takes us to the lowest of lows. Neither is an unchanging state of happiness favored nor should it be desired for it is through suffering and struggle that we learn the greatest lessons of life. These are the same lessons that take us forward when we look back at all the tough times we have passed and smile, feel proud at our fortitude, and move on. This is to say that is best that you don't judge people by one season. Be it positive or negative, failure or success, happiness or sadness, one season or a phase in a person's life is much like reading one page in a book and judging it to be either brilliant or bad.

Our time in this world is limited; it is marked and accounted for at every breath we take. It is on us to make the best of it for as everyone says, time never stops for anyone. The forward motion of time compels us to keep moving forward no matter what we experience. Even though time is universal, it is also highly subjective. Time changes for everyone and brings forth a new set of perspective, outlook, and eventually, a whole new self. Science has proved evolution of man and we have all seen pieces of evidence of that. It is the evolution of our individual selves that often goes unnoticed by most people and sometimes even by our own selves. Do we tend to judge people on the based on generic metrics even though we know that every person is distinct in their own characters? If yes, what defines this metric and who decided it?

Let us explain this with the help of a simple example. You know how everyone always says that we should be judging a book by its cover'? That is because a single sheet of graphic, painting, text, or design cannot encapsulate all that the book holds. The quick judgement we make of that book, terming it as 'good' or 'bad' is no more than a judgement when it should have been an informed opinion. This also applies to people. When we meet a person at a certain period of time they may be going through a great phase in life or a pathetically low one. Whatever it may be, it is still a phase and as we know, phases of life come and go. Hence, it is not only wrong but also morally wrong to judge a person instead of forming an informed opinion about them.

But, what happens when we misjudge people? Do we hurt them? Yes, we do. Not only do we hurt their emotions but, depending on where they are in that present phase in life, hurt their confidence and self-esteem. We as humans have the power of both cruelty and apathy. It is up to us whether we wish to wield the former of the latter. Cruelty here does not imply physical cruelty but moral cruelty that e have so un-apologetically adopted in the present day when what we really need is apathy. Apathy brings us closer to people and prevents us from forming judgments of a person based on just one season of their life.

In order to practice apathy, you can practice a simple habit. This can be explained with the example of a regular activity such as buying a book. Next time you go to a bookstore, make sure you buy the book not based on the judgement you arrive at looking at the cover, but by actually taking a peek into it and investing the time to read a little about the story it has to tell.