She disgusts me.
Yet I am just like her.
He’s malicious and fills me with agony.
But I have caused others pain.
I judge her for hoarding knick-knacks.
But I hoard books. Sentimental things fill my closet.
He stuffs his face with junk and greasy fried foods every day.
I am strict and suppress that part of me…until it escapes to the fridge and binges in secret.
She spends all her money and buys things I deem unnecessary.
I preach from the pedestal of permaculture and yet I found myself unconsciously buying clothes I don’t need from Chinese sweatshops.
Oops.
I denounce. I judge. I am the fundamentalist I abhor.
I am that preacher who condemns homosexuality and is later caught with his big, queer pants down.
These are all parts of me. You are all part of me. I am part of you.
I Am A Hypocrite. 
I have tried to remain morally pure. I have strong values but I don’t always live up to them.
I fail.
Often.
We all do this.
We judge others but we are the same.
Maybe it doesn’t show up in exactly the same way, but there is a part of you that is mean, cruel, superficial, dismissive, avoidant, clingy, insensitive, materialistic, and fundamentalist.
Hard to hear?
Yes!
But I am not singling anyone out.
We all have inner manipulative liars, murderers, abusers, victims, martyrs, addicts, saints, and sinners.
And we are all beautiful, loving, kind, inspiring, strong, and vulnerable.
Which sides of ourselves do we choose to engage with?
It’s just a question of your present ability to see these pieces within you. If you can’t see it, you probably just have some work to do.
Or you’re the Buddha, Jesus… Mr. Rogers.
We all have parts of ourselves that we have tucked away and hidden from the world and maybe even from ourselves.
We like to think of ourselves as “good” people. We put the “bad” people in jail.
But the truth is our personalities are what we learned to become in order to survive our childhood.
There were parts of yourself you repressed or rejected or hid away because it was dangerous to be that. Or it wasn’t accepted. Mom didn’t love that part of you. You were punished for crying or playing too loudly. You had to break yourself into pieces and hide or deny the parts that put you in danger. The part that you chose to show to the world and to use to survive is your personality.
Overprotection
Maybe it saved you when you were little, but what about now?
Maybe it’s landed you in some painful or dangerous situations as you grew up. Or maybe it’s held you back from ever being what you yearned to be.
Maybe it’s the amalgamation of false beliefs that limit your true, full potential.
It’s easy to judge. And be honest, it can feel good to vent and complain and pretend that someone is scum compared to you.
And who am I to say that you’re wrong?
All I know is, we must stick to our values and fight for justice, love, beauty, freedom, equality, and fairness in the world.
But we are human.
It’s important to remain humble and aware. Everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect, and if you don’t understand someone’s behavior, you’re probably missing their context.
This is not to say that people aren’t responsible for their actions. I only mean to bring more understanding, awareness, and compassion to yourself and others. This may include you needing to withdraw your energy from someone who is abusive. Or it may mean sticking up for yourself and setting a hard boundary. That’s self-love and self-respect.
But the next time you feel filled with rage, anger, and hurt at someone else’s actions, I urge you to find your inner hypocrite and forgive that part of yourself. And to forgive yourself for judging you so harshly.
<3 