Judgemental

Five men lost their way and were forced to spend the night in the dark woods. One of them heard a twig snap, and went over to see what it was that was walking by. He walked right into the side of an elephant. He put out his arms to either side, but all he could feel was the big body of the elephant. He said, ‘I think I have walked into a wall.’ A second man grabbed hold of the animal's trunk and shouted, ‘This isn't a wall. This is a snake!’

The third man touched the animal's tail. ‘This is not a wall or snake. You are both wrong. It is a rope.’ The fourth man decided that someone should really get to the bottom of things. So he crouched down on all fours and felt around the elephant's legs. ‘My dear friends," explained the fourth man, ‘This is no wall or snake or rope. What we have here is four tree trunks’

The fifth man was not so quick to jump to conclusions. He walked up to the front and felt the animal's two long tusks. ‘It seems to me that this object is made up of two swords,’ said the fifth man. Suddenly, there was a stroke of lightning in the sky and the elephant trumpeted a fearful cry. Now, the five men could see and hear the strange object that they had difficulty in identifying.

Surely, we find ourselves in similar predicaments where our minds are so prejudiced that quite often we jump to conclusions. We need to open our eyes, ears and our mind… both literally and in spirit. We need to unlearn our prejudices and ensure an open approach to fresh learning.

It is a human tendency to be ‘judgmental’… and it is this very tendency that obscures our vision, cloaks our listening and masks our learning. Before we speak or voice our ‘opinions’ we must ensure that we ‘understand’ all facets before we take a ‘stand’. Imagination is good, but if we are not to stray from reality, we must be better at ensuring that we are not judgemental!

To BE BETTER at avoiding being judgmental…
Focus beyond perception to be developmental!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Goa, India.