Be curious, not judgemental

Something occurred to me today and I wanted to share it with you… grab a cuppa… pop your feet up and read on…

For those of you that know me you will know that one of my side kicks is a gorgeous little Yorki-poo (although he thinks he is a king) called Frankie. We went through a very traumatic time with him around 5 years ago when he had a severe spinal injury caused by disc disease. We honestly thought that we were going to lose him. The vets were brilliant and with a little lifestyle changes here and there we were able to keep our little mate. Yes, he would be disabled and not be able to live a ‘normal’ dog life but to us, he is our family and we would adapt to suit his needs. The vets told us he was not in any pain. Thank God. So, we equipped him with a buggy (one off-road, one on-road), with a doggie wheel chair and anything else he needed that would help him get around with ease.

This morning an upsetting memory popped up into my mind of when we went to a Motor Show in one of our local towns. Frankie was in his buggy looking all regal but most importantly loving being out and about with us. We were strolling through the various stalls (it was a beautiful summers day) and a man running one of the stalls said “Your dog should be allowed to walk. He must be really lazy” and he cackled feeling all proud of himself for making the comment.  It was then that I realised how the judgement of other people (especially when they don’t know the circumstances that we were experiencing looking after our little friend and doing the best for him) can create so much hurt (unwittingly in some cases of course). Of course, this man didn’t understand was that it was not long since Frankie had been diagnosed with the spinal injury. The buggy was a way of us getting him out and about so that he could still enjoy life but in a way that wasn’t tiring him/hurting himself by dragging himself along or by hurting our arms and back by having to carry him. He had to have wheels specially made and at this point they had not been delivered yet.

It was then that I realised that we don’t really know what is going on in somebody’s life and as human beings we are very quick to judge. This was a great lesson for me because it has since made me pause before I judge another human being and to understand that there may be a lot going on in their life which causes them to behave, react or do certain things. Connecting to a deeper level of compassion and kindness has created a massive breakthrough. I felt really compelled to share this message with you today as a gentle reminder that we don’t really know what is going on in someone’s life and it is always nice to give someone the benefit of the doubt before judging them. Try to be curious, not judgemental.

With kindness,