Our Judgement Of Good And Bad

If you are not feeling content, peaceful and fulfilled, this post is for you. There is only one thing that is hurting you. It’s not your health condition, not your excess weight, not your job nor the boss, not your financial situation, not your relationship or the lack of it, nor any other reasons you can come up with.

I’ve already said it here and here that there are no such thing as bad thing and it’s our judgement that bothers us. We are so addicted to making judgments that we will create problems or choose to see something as bad if we don’t find enough things to judge.

But maybe this topic deserves repetition. Let me put it as blunt and straightforward as I can.

What if I told you I had a cancer?

• Would you be sorry for me? Why?
• Do you think I did something wrong and I am getting punished? Why?
• Am I supposed to be sad, panicked, angry, resentful, etc? Why?
• What makes you think having a cancer is a bad thing?

Well, I have no such diagnosis, but I am using this example because it seems to hit people’s nerves. Why, just why, do you think a disease like cancer is bad?

Because I will die soon? So? You know I will leave sooner or later, right?
Because it will hurt? Yeah, that sounds no fun. I don’t like pain. But pain doesn’t have to mean mental struggle.

There is really no reason why cancer should be considered bad. But you made the judgment. Some of you may even have made the assumption that having a serious disease like a cancer means I did something wrong or I “attracted” it by some ill thoughts. Ha!

And of course, you make hundreds of other judgements every day. Now forget about little Akemi. You make hundreds of judgements about the things that happen to you. Every judgement brings fear, confusion, anger, anxiety, guilt and shame.

Why our judgements are always wrong

Our ego makes judgements based on what we know, either directly or indirectly. In a sense, growing up and getting educated is all about learning how to judge.

The problem here is that the knowledge base we use to make our judgement is extremely limited. Even a Noble prize winner knows very little of what it is there in this Universe. Therefore our judgements are always limited, or downright wrong and misleading.

For example, most people don’t know what happens after death. So they think death is the end and judge it is bad. (As you know, I write about after death and reincarnation. Death is only a transformational process.)

Many people think having a job is the only way to make a living, so they judge a job loss is bad. (As I look back, I see that every time I lost a job, I eventually got even better job.)

Regarding how life unfolds while we are in this lifetime, “good” things often come out from “bad” things. But we don’t see it (unless you have very good precognition ability), so we judge something such as a traffic ticket or job loss is bad.

Bad turning good

Do yo need some examples of how seemingly bad things can bring wonderful results? Here is a story from an ancient Chinese book. (I read it in Japanese, so I don’t know what it’s called in English — if someone knows, please let me know):

There lived a farmer in the northern area of ancient China, near the border. One day, his horse ran away. The villagers heard about his loss and visited him to say they are sorry about it. But the man said, “It’s not a problem. This can turn out good.” People didn’t understand him and thought he was strange.

Several days later, the horse came back, along with several other wild horses from beyond the border that it befriended with. Horses from the north were highly praised so this was a lot of gain for the farmer. The villagers heard about it and visited him to say they are happy for his good luck. But the man said, “This is not necessarily good.” People didn’t understand him and thought he was strange.

The farmer had a young son. The son grew fond of riding these great wild horses. One day, however, he fell off and was injured badly. The villagers heard about this accident and visited the farmer to say they are sorry about it. But the man said, “It’s not a problem. This can turn out good.” People didn’t understand him and thought he was strange.

Later, China started a war with the northern barbarians. Most young men were drafted and many never returned. But the farmer’s son was spared because he was crippled.

The story then concludes its moral saying, “Thus, the good and the bad are intertwined like a rope. You would not know if something is good or bad.”

I would say there is no good nor bad, it’s just our judgement.

What does this all mean to our everyday life?

Does this mean we want to just sit back be a lazy couch potato because, uh, nothing is bad and everything is already good?

Yes and no. By no, I mean, not unless sitting on the couch and doing nothing is what brings you joy. We are all here to experience our creative power in this physical world. So you probably want to create what you love. (Creation in this world usually takes some inspired actions.)

It does, however, mean you can do away with all those unnecessary struggles that you indulge in. This helps you to direct even more energy to your creation.

Also, it does mean we can relax. There is a point about doing nothing. So yes, sometimes you find me on the couch daydreaming. Fine.

I know this is a simple, yet very hard to grasp idea. It takes a lot of unlearning. Take your time. When you feel troubled, anxious, depressed or angry, stop and think what kind of judgments you are making. (You are certainly making judgements when you feel these emotions.) And let your judgment go. If possible, laugh at your judgements. Laugh at your own ego making all these judgements as if it knows everything. The ego is like a seventeen-year-old who thinks she knows everything about life. (Photo credit)

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