Judgment gets in the way of peace

I realized a significant truth today that judgment gets in the way of peace. Yesterday I had set an intention for myself to remain peaceful in my heart and mind throughout the day, not letting any of life's stressors touch me. That I would just flow through the day accepting what came and remain peaceful in my heart...While this was my intention, it did not hold up when faced with the challenges that I experienced. Even though my mantra kept staring back at me and I did find this useful at times to be reminded that this was my intention, I also ended up feeling a failure at the end of the day because I was not able to live in the light of that peace...So I did some reflecting on this idea today.

What got in the way of my intention?
How can I offer myself and others more grace?
How can I more closely link my thoughts/feelings today in order to live out my intention fully?

When I ask these questions of myself it became really clear to me that judgment is what stood in the way of my peace. I was judging others for what they were failing to do and judging myself for losing sight of my intention of peace. I was feeling overwhelmed because others were falling short of meeting my expectations and because I was falling short of staying at peace in the moment.

I share this experience because it's real. I share these thoughts because I can imagine that others probably go through similar thought processes themselves.

Wayne Dyer says, "Discontinue deciding what anyone else should or shouldn't be doing". I think this really is a great message to hold fast to. It is in our expectations we place on others and our judgment of how they live up to those expectations that we often times feel discouraged or unsupported. All expectation leads to suffering...

As I reflected on this today I could clearly identify what was getting in the way of my peace. Today I start fresh - while I set the same intention of peace, I add to that intention a new level of grace and non-judgment.

"May grace flow from me today - for myself and for others. Only in non-judgment can there be true peace. As grace flows, may judgment cease." ~ Namaste