Re: What is Disapproval? - How to Allow

wise words, invincible. I, too, have found this to be a good approach when dealing w/the negativity that permeates our mainstream media-oriented culture. Young children often say and do things that are very hurtful to their peers in what I call random acts of meanness. Offering children (of any age) a perspective which allows him/her to remove himself from the negative comments, images, and perspectives that others lay on them is to do them a great service. (I apologize for the lack of pronoun alignment but hopefully you get the gist.)

The other point you make has also been my observation throughout life. Often the people who are most critical of others are extremely hard on themselves. Once we learn to accept our own shortcomings and censor the voice inside ourselves that delivers searing judgments, we find that we can accept the shortcomings of others with more patience and understanding.

I wld also like to add that I believe it is helpful to cultivate a perspective that "allows" others to change. If one expects a certain person to be disapproving of one, that person is usually more than happy to accomodate your perspective. When we visualize others as evolving and/or whole, when we can learn not to "reflect" back another's shortcomings, we begin to experience a world where not only ourselves have "evolved" but those around us as well. Tweet