Just Because You Don't See It Doesn't Mean It Doesn't Exist
Perception is reality to a majority of us. Each and every one of us live in the realities we have created for ourselves. How we perceive what we see is determined by a complex variety of factors. Our personal experiences, our level of education, where we are on the socio-economic totem pole, the situations we are in right now, our cultural background, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, ones eating habits, our fitness level all impact how we see things. There are so many things that color the goggles we wear that it has the effect of making so many of us oblivious to the fact that we even have them on. What happens when we take these goggles off, or try on another pair?
People of all backgrounds do an excellent job of coming up with a multitude of things that are useful in driving wedges between themselves and others. The only reason I can muster for this is simple, fear. Fear is one of our most powerful ignition emotions activated whenever we perceive threat. Operative word being perceive. Like an animal in the wild, we fear what we don't know or understand. But we are not animals. Sheryl Sandberg, author and COO of Facebook, wrote, "You can't be what you don't see." It's hard to strive for something you don't see or are unfamiliar with. This impacts belief. It would seem most people can take that one step further because so many operate under, "I don't understand what I don't see. I don't care to see it either."
We all have our biases that cloud the way we think, perceive, and act. Simply acknowledging this can go a long way in understanding the plight and struggle of others. Black people in the United States still experience racism on a myriad of levels in institutions most are unaware of unless you can be open to the fact that it exists. Woman are still marginalized and treated unfairly in many ranks in the professional world, the poor are certainly alienated by just about everyone, many gay people struggle with conditions and obstacles only they are aware of.
Understanding someone else's struggle doesn't mean you invalidate your own. Empathy and compassion are not zero sum. The media feeds off hysterics and conflict because unfortunately most of us can't help but be attracted to that sort of thing and they are all about ratings. But the more we watch that stuff it becomes a habit and it becomes easier to believe it's real and pretty soon we aren't thinking for ourselves or forming our own opinions and beliefs. We are simply having a ratings machine implant perception into our minds that doesn't benefit anyone but the machine.
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
People of all backgrounds do an excellent job of coming up with a multitude of things that are useful in driving wedges between themselves and others. The only reason I can muster for this is simple, fear. Fear is one of our most powerful ignition emotions activated whenever we perceive threat. Operative word being perceive. Like an animal in the wild, we fear what we don't know or understand. But we are not animals. Sheryl Sandberg, author and COO of Facebook, wrote, "You can't be what you don't see." It's hard to strive for something you don't see or are unfamiliar with. This impacts belief. It would seem most people can take that one step further because so many operate under, "I don't understand what I don't see. I don't care to see it either."
We all have our biases that cloud the way we think, perceive, and act. Simply acknowledging this can go a long way in understanding the plight and struggle of others. Black people in the United States still experience racism on a myriad of levels in institutions most are unaware of unless you can be open to the fact that it exists. Woman are still marginalized and treated unfairly in many ranks in the professional world, the poor are certainly alienated by just about everyone, many gay people struggle with conditions and obstacles only they are aware of.
Understanding someone else's struggle doesn't mean you invalidate your own. Empathy and compassion are not zero sum. The media feeds off hysterics and conflict because unfortunately most of us can't help but be attracted to that sort of thing and they are all about ratings. But the more we watch that stuff it becomes a habit and it becomes easier to believe it's real and pretty soon we aren't thinking for ourselves or forming our own opinions and beliefs. We are simply having a ratings machine implant perception into our minds that doesn't benefit anyone but the machine.
#elliotyi
#paradigmleft
#habits
#mindset
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