“So where is Waldo, really?”

IMPULSE TO JUDGEMENTS

Do you remember the first person you ever judged? Mine was my older cousin. My cousin was perfect, she was my pseudo older sister, someone I looked up to. One day, I found myself looking at her with a different lens. She was preoccupied with her phone, she was standoffish, she was trying hard to be distant; in short, she was exhibiting teenager behaviour I disliked. My cousin, my idol, my god, was not flawless after all, she was only human.

“The only people we can think of as normal are those we don’t yet know very well.” Alain de Botton

JUDGE WALDO

Where is Waldo? Wherever he is, I want to be there. It occurred to me a while back that Waldo exhibits the same expression wherever he is, always confident, alway smiling. He is always at ease, relaxed, comfortable, and non-judgemental, even if he is in a place he clearly stands out, amongst people he clearly doesn’t belong to. You can say that we never know what Waldo is thinking or feeling. If you ask me, he is merely a figure on a page, on a surface, paper deep. We don’t know Waldo, no one does, and that’s the key - familiarity breeds contempt. Perhaps that’s the key in life? Maintain a Waldo-like smile, stand out, but blend in?

I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger two years ago. Back then, I understood the book but not Holden’s emotions. But now, I’m starting to feel him, I’m starting to understand where he’s coming from. Like Holden, I can’t help but trace the stories I hear over the actions I see - and I see discrepancies, I see hypocrisy. Holden sees and judges everyone strictly without exceptions; he can't help pick apart people’s flaws, he especially likes people who are genuine, and tests those he see as phonies. In his eyes, the world is full of flawed individuals.

Nowadays, whilst my growing cynicism and judging eyes empathises with Holden Caulfield, my uber friendly disposition leans towards Waldo, a more neutral palette for a less temperamental and more peaceful mind. Alas, I feel my hormones tugging me one way, and my genes spiriting me the other way.

THOSE WHO JUDGE GETS JUDGED - THE GODS

By implication, the judged is flawed and guilty, and the judging virtuous and superior. I’m sure most people think they are more virtuous than others, and like me, they may try to live a less flawed life. For example, every time we throw our cans into the recycling bin, or help the elderly cross the road, we feel virtuous, more civilised, uplifted; our hearts pure and our souls bright and clean. Every time we do good, we see our hearts weighed like the Egyptian Judgment of the Dead, our hearts on one side of the scale, and a feather on the other.

Gods are our spiritual leaders, those we aspire to be closer to in virtue. But wait, a quick browse of Greek mythologies quickly shatters the illusion that Gods are flawless. Yes, they have power, wisdom, immortality, charm, almost perfect in every way. Yet, whilst man is supposed to be modelled after God(s), it seems at times, like Gods are modelled after man instead. For instance, the famous story of Troy stemmed from Aphrodite’s vanity. In fact, this very human flaw lead her to be mean and spiteful towards both man and other Gods. Hera was a fearsome Goddess, who is perhaps best known for her wrath to all those who had sex with her husband Zeus. When she passed judgement, she didn’t distinguish between those who were innocent or guilty, she didn’t even spare the innocent children that came out of those love affairs.

Perhaps the most powerful of them all, but yet the most flawed, was Zeus, the King of the Greek Gods. Zeus first deceived Hera by transforming into a helpless cuckoo, but after winning her, he continued to cheat on Hera over fifty times. In his dialogue Euthyphro, Plato declared Zeus was the best and the most righteous of the Gods. Yet, now through our contemporary lens, we see Zeus as more human than ever, flawed by his many deceptions, rapes, infidelities, and acts of cruelties and jealousy.

Do we have unrealistic expectations and harsh judgements of man and Gods? I suggest Greek mythologies are not to tell us how powerful, virtuous, or mighty Greek Gods are, but rather, the opposite - that even Gods are flawed and imperfect, let alone us mere meek, weak, and weak willed man.

I WANT TO BE WHERE WALDO IS

I feel although my age impulses me to judge those around me, it’s better not to judge and be understanding to others - like Waldo. Where is Waldo? Waldo is in a good place, he is at peace, at ease, and appreciative of those around him and the places he’s in. I can imagine some may suggest Waldo doesn’t judge because he keeps a distance from those around him. My response would be: maybe, but I’d like to think he’s just polite and gives people the benefit of the doubt. If I was Waldo, in a place full of people, I wouldn’t be smiling, I’d be judging.

I think it’s easy to judge people - too easy. As i enter into this age, of having seen enough, heard enough, knowing enough, I can’t help but see that our reality and the ideal are often misaligned. I can’t help but feel frustrated with what’s going on around me. I impulsive blurt out “WHY???!!” - my brows turn into one, my eyes fixated, my chin protrude, and lips tighten. Then again, the famous saying “the world is not perfect” really means we can’t expect perfection where none can be found. Even Greek Gods are flawed, what chance do we have? No, I want to live more freely of these pains. I’d rather be like Waldo than to be like Holden Caulfield. I’d rather be like Waldo than to be like the Greek Gods. Nothing good has come from judgements passed on by Greek Gods, they suffer as harshly as us mere mortals. I guess you can say that I’d like to be kinder to others, in part so that I’d be kinder to myself. I’m going to self-love, I’m going to relax, I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt, I’m going where to Waldo is.