Our view of life and people can only come through one way and that is from our own perspective. We don’t have someone else’s perspective. Yes, we might have similar views with another, but we see things in our own unique way. We see it this way because each one of us sees the world according to our life experiences, our family, ethnic and community culture as well as from our social/economic standing. How else can we see things? The problem is that we all think our perspective is right and sometimes we think it is the only perspective. It is also hard at times to see beyond our level of understanding.
For example, when one has lived a life of poverty and struggles, it is hard to understand how a wealthy person might live. One can imagine a wealthy person having everything they desire but that may be true and maybe not true. The same goes for a person who has always had prosperity and abundance but may not understand a person who lacks prosperity and that they have limited resources.
We see life through our own eyes and therefore it is biased
We are all biased in our opinions but one thing that is certain is that even though people have different life experiences, we all experience the same feelings in life. All of us, rich or poor, white or black, religious or atheist have experienced feelings of unworthiness, anger, guilt, shame and, also love and joy. That’s when we can see our humanity with others. Unity makes us more empathic, understanding and tolerant of others and we helps us have less internal biases.
The challenge this week is to catch yourself when you judge another. Stop and ask yourself “Am I defining this person or am I defining myself?” Breath and be kind to yourself. Also, be honest with yourself, no one needs to know what you uncover other than you. Breath and offer yourself some kindness and space for this information to settle. Remember, moments of inner reflections can be painful, but they can also be healing.
For those who are concerned with other’s opinion of you, conversely, this statement can also be true,
“When others judge me, they don’t define me, they define themselves.”
Of course, if there is ever a feeling that there is some truth in what the other person says to you, see it as opportunity to do some inner work so that you can become a more loving and kinder person.
