Can you believe it? Here we are a few weeks since forced quarantines and sewing our own face masks to a world that is slowly re-opening.... How do those words make you feel? Are you excited and ready to hit the mall and your favorite restaurants? Or are you terrified that it is much too soon and that more people, perhaps even people you love and care about are going to die?
The human brain is a funny, quirky thing. We get so wrapped up in our own perspective that we rarely possess the ability to see someone else's. If you have ever argues about politics with a staunch democrat when you yourself are a staunch republican, you know exactly what I am talking about... No matter what facts you drop on that individual, they will not hear it, and they will certainly not accept it!
Let's play a game. What colors are this dress?
I see a black and blue dress. It's actually a pretty ugly dress, but definitely black and blue. What do you see? If you tell me you see white and gold, I will not necessarily be surprised, but you will not get me to change my perspective. In my head, through my eyes, the dress is black and blue,
Changing another's perspective is a LOT like this dress. You will never be able to convince people that things are not the way they see them, unless they have an open heart and an open mind.
Let's do another one....
What do you hear? I hear Laurel. If you tell me you hear Yanny, I will probably argue with you, and really wonder what you are listening too. Again, you just cannot get someone else to experience the world the way that you do....
What does all of this have to do with re-opening the world? Everything. It seems like all we do is argue about how things should be handled or when things should open. Believe me when I say I have some very strong beliefs on this topic as well. However, in this difficult time, perhaps it is simply more important to simply acknowledge that we will never understand another's perspective, but we can meet everyone wherever they are with love and kindness.
And that feeling, feels a lot like sunshine.
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