And Don’t Be Quick To Judge

Most people don’t stop to talk, because they assume I must be using drugs! That is a comment that met me as I walked through a local park recently.  I gave a huge smile, and hello, to a stranger and received a big smile, and hello back, along with “most people don’t do that.” What resulted was a discussion about stigma and judgement, among many other things.

“The way I look people judge me” I was told.

 How often do you walk past someone and make a judgment? If they’re wearing old clothes, they must be poor. If their teeth are not in good health, they must be using drugs.  Does that have an impact on how you treat them as a person?  Do you ignore them, cross over the road, or pretend they’re invisible or do you greet them like you’d greet anyone else?

I usually have a few smile cards in my pocket to randomly give to people. They have a smile on one side, and the words “your smile can change the world” on the other.  I gave this person one of my smile cards and said how their smile really had made my day better. They said it was great but also needed the words “and don’t be quick to judge!”

This person had faced judgement from so many people and had seen other beautiful people judged too.  They’d seen the impact of this and wanted this to change.

Why wouldn’t we say hello and smile to everyone anyway, no matter the background. I know I have had amazing discussions with strangers with the most fascinating stories and dreams.   Were they using drugs, unemployed, employed, have an expensive car, or no car at all, I don’t really know because it didn’t really matter.  What mattered was that we smiled at each other and that opened the door to connection.

As we parted this person held up the smile card, said “thank you” with a big, beautiful smile and said, “remember next time you get these printed you need to add the words “and don’t be quick to judge!”

Everybody’s smile can change the world.  Whose are you missing out on connecting with?  Your challenge this week is to smile and say hello at someone you wouldn’t usually and notice the reaction.  How do you feel and how do you think they felt?