By Kai
What if there was no such thing as society? How do you think this would change your personality? Today, I’m going to explore the way society and the majority affects everything about you, from the way you think, the way you act, the way you speak, even the way you make decisions.
Last Summer, when I was 15, I went on a meditation retreat and didn’t know what to expect. For the majority of this six day trip, I was meditating with around 40 teens. For the rest of the time, I was taking part in various activities, group conversations with different topics, and even meeting with a group of about 8 people where we talked more individually since it was a smaller group of people. The first time I meditated with everyone else, we were given 5 rules to follow. One of these rules stood out to me. It said: No judgement.
After this experience, I wondered what the world would be like if our view of social standards through judgement changed. In today’s world, judgement can not only give someone’s point of view on a specific thing, but can set social standards. One person disliking something can lead to many people disliking the same thing. When many people dislike or disagree with something, it becomes a social standard which can alienate others. These standards also play a big part in the process of judging someone. Most social groups usually have their own standard. Think about it. Let’s say a group of your friends all want to sign up for a class on astronomy, but you want to take a class on drawing. In this case, your friends make you feel uncomfortable with your decision in a number of ways. They may make fun of you and mock you because of your different choice or ask why you chose the class you did instead of the class the majority of your friends decided to take. From this experience, we can say that this social group has specific expectations in the form of a social standard that they may’ve not realized: It seems that you’re not allowed to stand out without being judged. According to Psychology Today, studies show that rejection destabilizes our need to belong.
But what if we looked at judgement differently? What if social standards didn’t mean anything? How would we look at awkwardness then? What if people could act in anyway, without feeling insecure about what others will say? What if what is considered good and bad or right and wrong, went into question? In today’s world, I believe that Society sets the standards for what is awkward and what is not. When one is taught what is seen as awkward, they can point it out to feel more secure about themselves by judging others. Now, I’m not saying everyone should stop judging everything. What I want you to know is that you have the ability to be more mindful when judging people.