Are We All Blind?

From Fred...

Paul;
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I hope you come back often.

This post was not intended as labeling or complaining.

I'm stating the fact that two people can look at the same thing or situation and have two completely different opinions of what they're observing. Every experience you and I have had in our lives has an influence on how we interpret and interact with the next thing we experience. As humans we instantly judge and assume, and those judgments and assumptions are based on past experiences. Learning to let those past experiences go is a form of growth that most people never master: I certainly have not.

For example, some people think I'm a nice guy; others (hopefully a small number) are convinced I'm a jerk. Why the difference? Their perceptions of me and my perceptions of them keep us from seeing each other as we truly are. If those preconceptions, recurring memories, and judgments were removed, we would be much happier.

Next time you're in a restaurant and a disable person, especially in a wheelchair, comes in; watch how people ignore him or her. They're almost invisible. People will look at you and maybe nod or say something like "hello" if you're normal, but they look away if you're not. Make a point to walk by this person on your way out and say "Hi" or "Hello". You may even have to make an extreme gesture to get their attention because they're used to being invisible. Watch their face light up simply because you said something to them. Why are we so uncomfortable because someone is different? Now replace the wheelchair with anything else that labels someone as different and you start to see how we as humans view each other through "lenses" that are not accurate or justifiable. These lenses alter everything we perceive, even ourselves, not just other people.

Think of how many divorces, breakups, deaths, wars, and pain we could avoid if we didn't have these "lenses" over our eyes altering our perception of reality.

Fred