Reserve All Judgement

“. . . I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men.” ~ Nick from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald



Ok, Many of you who know that my cats name is Gatsby might assume that I know that book inside and out. The truth is I haven’t read it since Jr year of high school. I picked it up today to re-read it. And what did I find in the third paragraph of the first page?...none other than the quote I listed. Why do I find it so fascinating? It was highlighted in my book already and because this is exactly who I am and how I have chosen to live and the consequences of that choice. “Reserve judgment” are the exact two workds that I use when describing how I respond to meeting knew people. I don’t like to decide upon what kind of person I am dealing with based on first impressions. I tend to stand back and watch and listen before I formulate in my mind who the person is and their motivation behind it. The truth is, most people pick up on this right away, whether or not they realize it. Consequently people tend to open up to me and share things with me that they might not be comfortable talking to their bestfreind about. I am privy to the secret griefs of many. Maybe I would make a good politician. Excepting that I would never betray that trust to use it to my advantage or even the advantage of others. That and I hate politicians, I love statesmen; one who exercises political leadership wisely and without narrow partisanship (Merr/Web online). Anywho, I thought it interesting that you never know how much what you read might stick with you…