I Used To Justify Everything I Did Like I Was On Trial

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” – Mahatma Gandhi

We are, in all reality, a generation that loves to judge. While some do so in the privacy of their home, others hiding behind their laptop, or the rest in just plain sight.

I am, just like every other human on this planet, just as guilty. Yet, as my mom drilled into my head like a broken record, don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want to be done to you. And lately, this concept has become all too real. So, in the words of Andi Dorfman, known as the New York’s time best selling author,  “I speak two languages … English and Truth.” But this is the thing, we hardly ever know the truth.

We judge what we see, and accept opinions as facts. Making us all feel like everyday life is nothing more but a courtroom, with us as the defendants. So, tell me if you can relate:

I justify my actions to the world.

I justify my thoughts to the world.

I justify labeling my problems as genuine issues that need to be addressed.

I justify the mistakes I make.

I justify the boys I date.

I justify the friends I make.

I justify the choices I make as if I was in court facing a judge.

I justify myself like a defendant would on trial.

Until it has dawned on me that I am not in court. I am not a defendant in an endless pursuit of freedom and justice.

Let me explain:

I committed no crime, and neither did you.

I am not held accountable for anyone but the person staring back at me in the mirror, and neither are you.

Progress isn’t linear, and mistakes are inevitable. Yet I am no longer desperate to influence other people’s perception of myself.

I live with the repercussions of my actions because they are mine.

I live with the thoughts passing through my head because they belong to me alone.

Thus, I am not on trial, struggling with insecurity by comparing my behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.

I am not on trial, and neither are you.   

Featured image via Pixabay