POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR RATIONAL JUDGMENT

Dr. Tesfa G. Gebremedhin

West Virginia University

It is commonly observed at large, among many of us in our communities, that we quarrel and squabble over petty or non apparent reasons. We are good in attending weddings and festivals, but we show hostile attitudes to each other in community or church affairs. We do not listen to each other with the intention to understand for a better perspective. We make haste conclusion and poor judgment of each other without having adequate knowledge and information. We choose to argue, fight and scold each other instead of having a peaceful dialogue on issues of common concerns. Political arguments and spiritual debates have become the battlefields for character assassination. Consequently, we end up in a serious and hostile conflicts and that is what is currently happening in our communities and religious institutions. The major sources of these problems are poor judgment, lack of tolerance, ill behavior, and lack of respect among us.

We can learn a good moral lesson from an interesting story by an unknown author. In the story there was a wise man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn tolerance, not to judge things too quickly without having the complete picture of any situation. So, he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was located a great distance away from his residence. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer, and the youngest son in the fall. We need to understand that each season has its own unique characteristics, different from each other.

When they had all gone and come back from their respective trips, he called them together to describe what they had seen in their assignments. The first son, who went in the winter, said that the pear tree was dry, ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son, who went in the spring, said that it was covered with green leaves, buds, and full of promise. The third son, who went in the summer, disagreed and he said that the tree was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful; it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen in a tree. The fourth son, who went in the fall, disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The father then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen the same tree but only one season in the tree's life. However, he told them that they cannot make any rational judgment about the tree by seeing only a single season. The essence of knowing what kind of tree it is and the pleasure, joy, and love that comes from the life of that tree can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are put into proper perspective. He shared his wisdom to his sons that if they give up and base their judgment about the tree only when it is winter, they will miss the promise of the spring, the beauty of the summer, and the fulfillment of the fall and their judgment will not be fair and reasonable.

The moral lesson of the story is that it is not fair to judge anybody by one difficult occasion or healthy situation we encounter with the person. It is always better to see both sides of the coin before making any kind of judgment. Perseverance through the difficult patches and better times and better perspective of any person are sure to come later when we take time to know each other very well.

As we let go of negative states of mind and negative thoughts of any person or situation, we create the space in our mind for the cultivation of positive thoughts for peaceful relationship. If we cultivate hostile thoughts and animosity, instead of the thoughts of love and friendship among ourselves, how do we expect our children to have a sense of interconnectedness, peace, happiness, and joy with us and with other people? We all have the seed of love and friendship within us, we must make the effort to cultivate it and radiate to our children, family members, and friends. It is a natural phenomenon that our minds are full of views, opinions, beliefs, and ideas different from each other. We can not think and act the same way as the other person because we are different in so many ways. This is because we have been conditioned by our different upbringings, religion, culture, traditions, education, associations, and experiences. From these mental conditions, we may develop some prejudices and judgments over another person. However, in our peaceful state of mind, we need to learn to separate the good from the bad and let the negative thoughts to go away and begin to recognize our biases and not let them dominate our minds. Then, the thought of nurturing love and friendship begins to shine in our minds, showing the true strength and beauty of caring and understanding each other. Love and friendship can motivate us to behave kindly to our children and to all other human beings at all times and to speak gently in their presence and in their absence. We do not have to know or be close to people to practice love and friendship toward them. If everyone of us holds the positive thought of cultivating love and friendship, we will have peace, harmony, and mutual respect and appreciation to each other in our communities and religious institutions. However, if we cultivate negative thoughts and develop wicked states of mind, obviously we will have hostility and animosity in our communities and religious institutions.

Respecting each other is the cornerstone of our virtue and the pillar of our unity. We do ill things if we do not appreciate each other, but we do worse if we end up judging each other because the more we judge, the less we love. We need to remember that everyone of us needs some recognition, some gratitude, and a kind word for comfort. Those of us with best attitudes and good character always rise above the rest of us. No matter how wealthy we are, how well educated we may be, how successful we are, whatever our station we are in life, we are finally judged on the human element of attitude that we project and behavior that we reflect to others. It is better to displease our communities by doing what we know is right than to temporarily please them by doing what we know is wrong. Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to have positive attitudes and be able to make the most rational judgment about our fellow person. Treating those around us as we would like them to treat us is the best way to follow, which as well brings peace and harmony in our communities and religious institutions.

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