Acceptance~Keep Our Egos, Histories and Judgements at Bay

I think it's important to be accepting of others, but it's sometimes more difficult to do than we'd like to admit. To do it properly we must keep our egos, our judgements, and our histories, at bay. Any of which could color our perception of just about anything.

But in friendship, for example, if someone is sharing with me that they are loving the artwork they've purchased, or excitedly talking about their plans for remodeling their home, and I'm all the while entertaining thoughts like, "Good grief, they sure know how to spend money they don't have.", I just might be doing some of the following:

1. judging them and how they spend money, which is none of my business
2. thinking while they're talking, thus I'm not being fully present
3. projecting my own thoughts about spending, which most likely come from my history with it (also has nothing to do with them)
4. letting my ego (which might not be as humble as it could be) decide what my friend should feel good about.

With all of that angst going on, it's kind of hard to just accept what our friends are sharing with us. How much simpler it would be for us to just enjoy their excitement and leave it at that.

The point is, that we should free our minds of all the static to be present, listening, and accepting. Thinking or doing otherwise takes on a burden that we really don't enjoy or need, and certainly doesn't belong in our friendships. We wouldn't like to be confronted (even unknowingly) with all of this censorship as we share our lives and thoughts with others.

And if we keep that in mind, perhaps it will help us do better as well.