If Only We Could Stop Judging One Another

I believe very strongly that our thoughts and emotions create our experiences.  The cool thing is we have a choice what we do with our thoughts and emotions.  We can focus on positive things or we can focus on negative things.  We all have that free will choice.  I just wish more people would choose to avoid focusing on the negative.

It is heartbreaking to me to see how judgmental we have become towards others.  It seems that at every second people are ready to pounce with all their judgement and negativity.  Not only does it hurt the person on the receiving end, it also hurts everyone else who sees it, hears it and feels it as the ripples of negative energy go out into the Universe.

I have been seeing this a lot in animal groups lately.  These are groups that were formed to help animals and yet they spew unbelievable negativity and judgement at the very people who are reaching out for help.  People who have a litter of puppies they need to find homes for, people who need to rehome their pet because of life circumstances, people who can't afford medical procedures that their pet requires.

Each time someone posts in these groups looking for help, there are people ready to bombard them with their judgement . . . I read things such as:  people shouldn't be allowed to have a pet if they don't make a lifelong commitment or if they can't afford it, people shouldn't ever, under any circumstances, surrender their pet to the shelter because it's a sign they are a terrible person, if you haven't spayed or neutered your pet you are an irresponsible awful person, etc.

Yes, in a perfect world all animals would have forever homes and owners who knew how to care for them but we are not in a perfect world.  We are in a world where we are all learning as we go and doing the best that we can with what we know at any given moment.

I think the reason why I am especially saddened by the bashing that occurs in these instances is because every single dog I ever had, (with the exception of our first dog Maggie who came from a pet store) came to us from one of the frequently judged circumstances.  If each of those dogs had stayed in their first home, I would have never had the joy of living with and learning from each one of those incredible dogs.

Brandy came to us because a neighbor's dog accidentally got pregnant.  Do I support spay and neuter programs because of the volume of unwanted pets in the world?  Absolutely I do and at the same time, I can't imagine my childhood without Brandy.

Clancy ended up with us because someone dumped him on the street.  He ended up being rescued by the dog groomer who did Brandy's hair.  She put up fliers, checked the lost and found at the shelter and no one was looking for the beautiful Westie mix, so she decided to find a new home for him.  Fortunately, that home ended up being ours.

Murphy was our next dog.  He had been hit by a truck, which broke his leg in several places.  The man who owned him could not afford the surgery and asked the vet to just put him down.  The vet couldn't do it though so she paid for the surgery herself and then looked for the right family to adopt him.  I am not going to sit in judgment because the man couldn't afford the surgery.  I am only going to be grateful that the vet decided to do the surgery anyway and that she found US because Murphy was a wonderful addition to our family.


After that came Mickey, who had been dumped at the shelter with untreated medical conditions which my parents addressed for years after they brought him home.  If someone hadn't given him up, we would have never had this sweet and wonderful new dog who also helped keep Murphy on his toes.

Each one of these dogs played such an important role in my life.  I was profoundly and beautifully affected by each one of them.

In the bigger picture, maybe they were meant to come into my life and that was why their previous families were in the positions they were.

I think about Kino and how different my life would be right now if his previous family hadn't surrendered him to the shelter.  Sure, I complained at first that he was never trained or socialized but the truth is, I don't know their circumstances so I don't know why Kino ended up like he did.  Maybe there was a family hardship that prevented them from being able to focus on him during that first year.  I do know that I would rather focus on the love and joy he brings into my life, rather than focusing on judging the people he used to live with.

I wish we could look at these situations with the eyes of compassion instead of judgement. I wish we could remember that we don't know all the circumstances behind pregnancies and pets ending up in shelters.  Throwing out harsh judgements against others doesn't do anything to improve the circumstances and doesn't do anything to help the people or the animals who are in these situations.

As I said at the beginning, I believe our thoughts and emotions create our experiences so if we constantly sit in judgement of others, I believe we will continue to manifest more negativity.  The choice is ours.  My personal choice is to try to keep viewing things from a place of compassion.  And I keep hoping that more people will do the same.