I have lived my life in a Critical Condition.

I have criticized people's driving, others' dress sense, individual's use of grammar – you name it, if it didn't meet my expectations I would give away a piece of my mind. You can lose your mind if you keep giving others a piece of it. Being critical is most definitely a Critical Condition.

This is not to make light of a physical critical condition. I've just lost one of my dearest friends. His loss has made me reevaluate what I do with my thinking. My thinking was in a dangerous, critical state.

I would like to think of myself as 'spiritual' but not 'religious'. As such, I like spiritual teachings though not the systems that humans wrap around them. Jesus is my Hero. He says to me, "Why do you seek to take the speck of dust out of your neighbour's eye when you've got a massive plank sticking out of your own eye?" It's pretty funny when you think about it.

That's my life story. But it's just changed. You see, I can't think of anyone who's ever been 'fit' to judge me. They all have had planks protruding from their own eyes. My hero put it even more succinctly: do not judge.

The root of the word 'Criticism' comes from the idea of being able to make distinctions and separate items. It's a good word with a good intent, but it's become corrupt. We all need to make judgments to survive and to make decisions. But we don't need to judge others.

We can judge situations as potentially dangerous – I understand that. But we don't have to judge the other people involved.

So, my assertion today is, "There is no such thing as 'constructive criticism'!"

Criticism is a Critical Condition, and I would want us all to be healed from this and out of danger.

Making this distinction (a kind of criticism of criticism) has freed me.

You're OK.

And so is everyone else.

And so am I, so I won't even criticize myself.

Best Wishes

Lex

A Moodscope member.