You know that pic that shows 2 people staring at the # 6 (& 9)? It’s accurately both 6 & a 9, because depending on the angle you view it, both are true. If you’re at the bottom of the 6, it’s a 6. If you’re at the top it’s a 9.
Most of us as kids don’t consider this. We see the world our way through our young eyes, & because we’re seeing things for the FIRST time, we don’t even question other vantage points. We’re first learning them for ourselves.
Then as we get older…these noggins of ours start to develop…& we start to have debates, & question things we never did before, & form strong opinions, etc.
That leads to conflicts & a realization that we see things differently than others. And so yes…we may see a 9 when others see a 6. But the differences can & often do go way beyond this.
We’ve all heard or thought of the question: what if I see the color green & it’s “green” to me, but it’s actually red to others? What if a table looks to others, like a chair really looks to me? Odd & sometimes uncomfortable questions, but ones we ask nonetheless.
And so, maybe not in as literal of a sense as those examples, the true answer is, many of us not only see things from different angles, but we see things through COMPLETELY different lenses. It’s not that things look different through those lenses, they look completely different.
And what’s forming the pictures that come through those lenses are all the life experiences we’ve had. What we have been exposed to. How each thing has made us feel. What emotions have been elicited.
Someone can see an airplane & – they see a train with wings that flies in the sky & is a marvel of modern tech that gets us to our destination more quickly…while others can see a death trap that can fall out or the sky at any moment. The SAME object…2 completely different views. Neither view is “wrong.”
So it’s not so strange that when it comes to more intense topics like politics, religion, social issues, etc., we see a completely different picture as others.
That should be expected. But we can’t/won’t ever understand that view, if we don’t explain & listen. There isn’t always a “right” way. That understanding would save us a lot of heartache.
