Have you ever stopped to think about how someone else is perceiving a moment that you are both in?
How they may feel or sense the things around them.
What their thoughts are on what is being said.
And most importantly, how that differs from how you are perceiving it?
When we go through life, we can only see through our own eyes.
We see things because of how we saw them before.
We understand things because of how we understood them before.
We relate to things because of how we learnt to relate to them before.
We filter things because of how we learnt to filter them before.
Our younger years are the ones that shape our perception, and allow us to begin to have a ‘mind voice’ and a set of coloured glasses that we see the world in.
But, when was the last time you attempted to see through someone else’s eyes?
To really, truly, deeply understand from their point of view?
What they have been through.
Where they have been.
How they understand, and why.
What they’re bringing to the table, and why.
And most importantly, to see why they do what they do.
In life, we use communication within our relationships to get our viewpoints across.
It is the only thing that we can use to understand each other’s views better.
So when we come together to discuss a situation or an experience, why not come at it with curiosity rather than perception?
Our perception is already set.
Curiosity instead allows us to alter this perception, and allow in other ways of thought.
When we stay curious, we ask the questions.
Why do they do what they do?
And when we allow for many different answers (because life is so ultimately complex), then we ease up on the expectation.
We ease up on it ‘needing to be’ something.
We ease up and let it all flow.
So, when you recognize someone doing/living their life differently than you, stay curious.
Because there is always an origin story for how each of us got here.
This week I ask that you share this with someone that you think would benefit from this mindset. Click the share button below :)
This is a great piece. As you see every spot or situation it’s hard to have the child’s fresh view of these events in a time line that is long. Fighting against the “jade fade”I call it is key. Your young friend yells let’s go to Tulum your thinking “I’ve got that T-shirt and it was so and so in 1983”. This is when the calcium builds up and people start to see only that that they have seen. Even if they are at that place in reality in real time.As a continuous traveler I just want to be awake. Even in my own town I see new things I’ll walk North Beach in San Francisco and stumble on the new owner at the Alfa Romeo shop talk about the new cars and feel it’s fresh. I’ve past here 300 times. Stay awake it makes it so much more fun.