It’s late fall here in Wisconsin. The leaves have mostly fallen off the trees, and my lawn is now a kaleidoscope of color. Due to a busy schedule over the last month, I haven’t had time to do the usual autumn outdoor chores. The last week or so, I’ve been aware of heavy energy creeping up in the form of two thoughts: “You should have raked by now” and “You really ought to take better care of your yard.” From there it was a short slide to feeling like I was lazy or being a bad homeowner.

This morning, I noticed a home in my neighborhood with leaves still in the yard. I thought, “Oh, look! Somebody else hasn’t raked their leaves yet.” Then I took a closer look around me. On every block, at least one or two houses still had leaves down. And I thought, “Wow! Lots of people who haven’t raked yet.”

I paused and pulled this more fully into my awareness. What surprised me was the distinct lack of judgment I felt toward these other homeowners. Instead of thinking that they were lazy or bad people, I just noted that they hadn’t gotten to it yet – a much kinder and gentler way to view the situation than the heavy energy I had been sending myself.

And in that moment, I made a decision to extend the same kindness to myself that I automatically give to strangers. A few deep, conscious breaths helped release the lingering judgment toward myself, and I went about my day feeling much lighter and brighter.

Most of us can probably find multiple examples in our lives of where we hold ourselves to much higher standards than we hold other people. The old programming runs, we slip into our habitual patterns, and it takes being mirrored by the Universe to realize what’s happening. In those moments, we experience grace and make the decision to let go of the self-judgment. We make a conscious choice to more fully embody our True Self.  

Where in your life right now can you extend the consideration you give to strangers to yourself?