Everything that happens in the world around you is filtered through your personal biases. Each of us has our own thoughts and experiences that slants the world around us in our own unique way.
This is a recurring thought I’ve been having for a few days now, one that causes me to reflect on how I see things. So much of what happens to us, or around us, can be taken one way or another way entirely. There is nothing that supports this idea more than politics. If you look at liberals and conservatives and how passionate each side is about specific topics, so much so that they can’t understand where the other is coming from, then you begin to get a clearer picture of what I’m talking about.
We need to be able to accept the idea that we all may see things differently, but at the end of the day, we all want the same things. We all want freedom, security, and a sense of belonging. We may not agree on how to go about that but what we can all, and should, agree on is our shared humanity. It connects us all. Both what we are and what we want from life are the same. Where we differ is in how we go about achieving those goals.
It’s not even that difference that separates us, not really. It’s how each of us views those differences. One person can see another person as the enemy based on how the other person chooses to find freedom, security, and a sense of belonging when the fact of the matter is that we all want the same things! That’s why I think it’s so important that we focus on what connects us rather than on what separates us.
Once you begin to see how your internal thought process can change the world around you, then you start to understand the importance of getting to the real you. Then, and only then, are you able to see the real world.
Learning to drop your personal biases isn’t easy; after all, it’s what makes you, you. But, if you’re able to sculpt your cognitive empathy to the point where you can understand the miles the other person has walked, you begin to see our shared humanity much more clearly.
Many times we are at each other’s throats, debating each other to the point of hate when we all want the same thing. Instead, we should focus on discussing how because our why’s are already aligned. First things first though: learn how to see past your own biases so that you can better see past those of the other person.
