Tea at Trianon: Ten Ways to Stop Judging Others

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, August 19, 2016

Ten Ways to Stop Judging Others

From Patti Armstrong:

1) When critical thoughts slip into your mind, think about God tuning into your thoughts. How does it look to him? Consider how it pleases God if you strive to think kindly rather than critically of someone.
(2) “The measure with which you measure will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:1). Love others, pray for them to make up for what is lacking and you will receive back from God in full measure.
(3) When your mind strays to critical thoughts, force yourself to come up with positive attributes about that person. "Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances"— St. Vincent de Paul.
(4) If you are a parent, remember how much you love your own children faults and all, and imagine how much his parents love him. Or perhaps they didn’t love him, which would be tragic and bring out sympathy. In either case, it helps block negative feelings.
(5) Pray for anyone that irritates you and push the irritation out of your mind.
(6) Think of the person as a child of God. Remind yourself that God loves them as much as he loves you. (Read more.)