We are not always who we appear to be. In fact, even to people close at hand, we might seem to be different than we really are. So who are we to judge others?

I have to share this little story from my friend Thea Westra’s blog:

I want to share with you Erin’s philosophy statement at the Brockovich blog, written by Erin Brockovich. It is so inspiring and affirming, as is Erin. She shares the following message better than I would have said it.

When you visit her blog site, it is also worth the time to read her personal account of her life, in her bio.

“People ask me all the time what I think and what my opinion is. Well, here are a few of my thoughts and beliefs:

Everyone believes, because of the movie, that I am an environmental activist. I am often referred to as the environmentalist with cleavage. I do care a great deal about the environment but my real work and my greatest challenge is trying to overcome deceits that end up jeopardizing public health and safety.”

Read more: http://www.apsense.com/article/103710.html

How many times has it happened to you that you were misrepresented by people around you? Perhaps people think you are cold, but in reality you are just shy. Or perhaps they think you are being selfish when you are protecting somebody else’s secrets or honour or friendship.

Let’s turn that question around and ask ourselves how often we judge others incorrectly. Of course, we can’t answer that question. But rumors abound and we might tend to believe them.

Even more so with people we know less well, such as other people in our workplace or school or neighborhood. Or celebrities or political leaders. We might be tempted to believe every hearsay that gossipers spread around about them. Or we might be inclined to believe carefully crafted images that bear no resemblance to their real lives.

The bottom line is that we know so little about people in the spotlight, and perhaps less than we think about people closer to home. In fact, sometimes we don’t even know ourselves all that well. The less we judge, the better.