Damage
We limit our view of others by the reality we can imagine for ourselves.
In my lifetime, I have been boycotted, spat on, stoned, ambushed, assaulted, raped, and abandoned.
Not been stabbed or shot yet.
I told this to someone recently, and the response was, “All of that screams damage to me.” I hold a different view.
This would have qualified as damage if I had chosen to whine about it.
But I don’t remember feeling or doing that.
The takeaway here is that we perceive the responses that people may have, based on a reflection of what we would do in a similar situation.
That’s empathy.
But empathy has a flaw.
Most of us are unaware or not remember often that everyone thinks differently.
Thoughts are as different as fingerprints.
No one thinks the way you do.
That’s what makes us all unique.
No one shares the same journey.
No one shares the same resources.
No one shares the same stories.
Since we don’t keep this one in our minds when we go about our daily lives, we limit our view of others by the reality that we can imagine for ourselves.
That’s assuming.
But being assuming has a flaw.
Everytime you look at another, remember that what they may pursue as an ideal reaction or response differs from yours.
The real stereotypes are the ones we hold about ourselves.
These are not a part of what popular culture dictates.
But more of what we wish for us, or think as ideal when we are posed with a new experience.
Awareness as such, is essential for happiness.