Stop Alienating Your Tribe

We live in a world of division. There are a lot of dividing lines in each of our lives. Some lines need to be drawn, but ones we don’t need to draw are those that divide us from others of like minds – our “tribe”, if you will.

Let’s look at people looking to follow a more healthy lifestyle. This is more than just cutting out the sugar from our diets. It includes getting rid of all the other things that are harmful to our health – microwaves, non stick cookware, even the cleaning products filled with chemicals. In truth, if we were to go back to full “healthy” we would give up a lot of the things that make our lives easier.

I’m all for doing everything you can to be as healthy as possible. Removing as many toxins from our lives is a good start. However, our world has now become saturated with toxins and to exclude them all can be expensive and cost more time.

Unfortunately, many people aren’t able to go “full health” as they would like to do. There are a lot of people who would love to ditch all their cookware and buy all cast iron. It’s not in their budget.

I feel very upset when I see so many judging others for their lives when they often have no other choice. There have been comments made to others such as: “Why aren’t you using cast iron? That cookware will kill you.” or “You need to buy farm fresh eggs instead of those in the store.” Or, “Stop using that dish detergent. You need to buy ‘x’ that has no added chemicals.” These are just a few examples. There are so many more.

It’s the same concept as those people who tell others they are fat. Yeah fat people know they are fat. They don’t need to be told. And people who are trying to live a healthy lifestyle know that some of the things they are living with aren’t in alignment with that. However, they simply are unable to make the transition with their life situation.

People, STOP ALIENATING YOUR TRIBE! These are your people too. We are all on the same journey to health. We all want what’s best for ourselves and our families, but some of us aren’t able to pay the price yet.

And already I hear those comments about “if you want it bad enough you will find a way.” Easy to say for someone who was able TO find that way. But, there are some who have done everything they can and the pieces never fell into place for them yet.

It’s not just the healthy lifestyle people either. These attitudes are found in various places in our lives. Everywhere there are people trying to live their best lives in the ways they have available, only to have someone tell them how wrong they are living and how to fix their lifestyle.

It’s the same in the scam fighting world. Victims are judged for having fallen victim to a scam that they weren’t aware WAS a scam. They didn’t know better. They do now.

We need to teach with kindness, not accusation or judgment. Lessons are much easier learned when they are not thrown at us with scorn.

Someone new to healthy living might not know that cast iron is better than non-stick. Instead of speaking to them with derision, perhaps offer to give them one of your extra cast iron pans and teach them how to use it? Show the scam victim where to find help.

I think when all is said and done, it still comes down to judging others and finding them wanting, rather than kindly offering to teach them how to change for the better. If they resist the teaching, let them live their life as they feel comfortable.

Our people, our tribe, are those who are living in ways we agree with. We vibe with our tribe. Others we let live, praying that they find their way to a better life.

We should certainly offer to help others if they ask for it, or are willing to learn from us. But judging and condemning others for living their life without understanding their circumstances is rude and without compassion.