Compare or Contrast

A positive self-image is very healthy, until you begin to compare and contrast yourself with others.  You cannot prop up your self-image with judgments about others.  If I am sitting in a room feeling positive about my maturity, spiritual development, and then hear someone say something that does not ring true for me, or see someone come into the room who looks/acts differently than me, it is not a time for judgment.  Rather it is a time to reach out to that person.  Don't let them leave the room without saying hello to them at some point, and even welcoming them.  What I see and hear in another person is but a tiny bit of them, and it is only a tiny bit at that moment in their life.  And if they spit in my face, what do I care?  Does my so called self-image depend upon others approving or liking me?  That ain't gonna work!