What Do You See?
Everything we interpret in this life is through our own lens. I went to college and studied anthropology, a disciple which prioritized the value of detaching opinion for the sake of remaining as objective as possible. However, it was a lost cause, no matter how hard we try to detach, eventually, meaning needs to be associated in order to gain understanding.
What’s interesting about life is that we almost need to have an opinion or stance in order to contribute. Even if we may simply try to simply just exist, we begin to questions “why?” in order to gain insight into why things are so orderly. Some people say, “Why bother to ask why? Life just is – there is no purpose other than what you chose.” I disagree. I believe there is a point and there is a reason to why things are the way they are.
Life sometimes doesn’t make sense from any number of viewpoints. It’s a great, grand, and complex mystery. Everything is so intricate, but yet vague; so meaningful, but relative. We all live with eternity built into us, even when we know we aren’t going to live forever here.
How do we stay objective? We can’t – unless we plan to disengage from discussion of the matter. In holding an opinion, there will always be someone who disagrees with us. Life can feel like a maze, but we need to search for truth. It can be overwhelming to voice your opinion when it’s unpopular to do so. However, we need to respect the process of discovery. There is no shame in being wrong. There is only shame in never questioning beliefs, truth, and purpose.
For a good amount of my early life, I thought I understood what it was all about. However, a couple years went by, and I realized how little I knew. A few more years went by, and I further realized how little I really knew. Ten years later, I can acknowledge how much I learned, but can still only stand in awe at the depth of knowledge and infinite room for growth there is. Truly, he who is “wise” only knows how foolish he really is and is humbled to learn.
We can all feel right in our own eyes from time to time – it’s human nature. However, we would benefit to understand that we aren’t always right. We may mean well, but we don’t always have the proper understanding. Being wrong isn’t a problem - it’s a lack of being willing to listen that can pose to be a problem. An open mind with a guided heart can keep us learning without danger of getting lost.
For further related reading, please check out: Your Potential.
