But We Have to Make Judgements, Don’t We?

Never underestimate the absolute importance — and the difficulty — of staring each encounter with a primal “yes!” Isn’t this what we consistently see in great people and those who make a difference? To start each encounter with “no” is largely what it means to be unconscious or unaware. You eventually become so defended  that you cannot love or see well, and so often passes for intelligence, prudence, or even good “judgement.” Negating personalities often “hide behind the thickets of the law,” as Robert Bolt recognized in the enemies of St. Thomas More. For some unfortunate reason, complaining, rejecting, or fearing something strengthens your sense of ego and makes you feel like you are important. You contract back into your small and false self, and from there, unfortunately, it becomes harder and harder to reemerge.

Richard Rohr
from The Naked Now; Learning to See as the Mystics See
Chapter: But We Have to Make Judgements, Don’t We?