What would a world without judgment look like?  That is the question I asked myself before creating this mandala several years ago.  This has always been one of my favorite mandalas and with all that is going on in the world, I felt it was a good time to revisit the message of this mandala.  It seems like every day, I hear a lot of people tearing other people down, judging them based on religion, disability, race, sexual orientation, political affiliation, etc. Our country feels more and more fragmented, with group pitted against group.

Then there is the epidemic of people judging themselves so harshly.  We think and feel we are fundamentally flawed, broken, unworthy, and just not measuring up to where we ‘should’ be.  I fight these feelings all the time as someone who lives with a debilitating form of rheumatoid arthritis.  I am my own worst critic and can be so hard on myself – much harder than I am on anyone else.  I’m sure we all would admit that we tend to judge ourselves more harshly than we judge others.  So what can we do about all this judgment floating around out there?  Let’s delve into this mandala and see one possible answer to the question ‘what would a world without judgment look like?’

During my meditation, I saw these lovely dancing flowers. The mandala shows how we would all be full of love and dancing in joy.  Without the weight of judgment, think of how much lighter and freer we would be.  These heart-flowers seem to be literally dancing across the paper.  Also, our roots would run deep and we would all be connected.   We would grow together and float/dance in our happiness and love.  Our layers would be rich and nurturing and grounded in the earth.  They would offer great support, but not be overly binding.  What is below the surface would be just as important as what is above the surface.  This particular point is so crucial in a society focused on the material – we are human beings full of depth and complexity.  What you see when looking at a person’s body is just the surface stuff.  Look deeper and you will see someone with the same dreams and fears.

As a person with a body damaged by decades of rheumatoid arthritis joint destruction, I certainly don’t fit the standard of beauty in our society.  But look deeper, look into my eyes, look at the art I create and allow yourself to see the beauty.  Release your judgment.  I will look at you and do the same.  What if everyone did that with multiple people every day?

This represents exactly how I would picture a world without judgment.  How would you picture it?

Namaste!