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There's a picture that has gone around the Internet for awhile now that I always find fascinating:
This is perception.
I have seen additional memes with the text crossed out. Their focus is on reality and not perception. The reality is (we assume), that someone wrote either a six or a nine. So in reality, one of those people is right and one is wrong. The real issue in life and communication and relationships is when we believe our perception is reality without taking the time to understand that not everyone sees what we see or believes what we believe. The struggle is finding a balance between understanding others and being open minded to their views without losing sight of reality, and while retaining our own thoughts and beliefs.
Some things can be accepted as just a difference in perception. I may see a red cardinal in my backyard and to me, it's just a bird. A friend may see the same thing and declare it is a sign from a deceased loved one. We have different beliefs and therefore different views on the same event. In this case, our perceptions are the reality as there is no way to know different. In the case of the meme above, nine could walk over and say "I see why you think this is a six. But let me show you how it is actually a nine." Then maybe there are context clues and supporting data (an eight and a ten out of frame, addresses on buildings, whatever!) to prove that the reality is nine. It doesn't make the six's perception any less real... but now that six has the duty to accept that his perception and reality are not the same.
I would say that perception is reality, until we know more. We can only accept what we see and know and believe. The challenge is shifting our perception from just real to true reality once we know more beyond our original scope of sight.
How many times has perception played a role in a disagreement in your life?
I have seen additional memes with the text crossed out. Their focus is on reality and not perception. The reality is (we assume), that someone wrote either a six or a nine. So in reality, one of those people is right and one is wrong. The real issue in life and communication and relationships is when we believe our perception is reality without taking the time to understand that not everyone sees what we see or believes what we believe. The struggle is finding a balance between understanding others and being open minded to their views without losing sight of reality, and while retaining our own thoughts and beliefs.
Some things can be accepted as just a difference in perception. I may see a red cardinal in my backyard and to me, it's just a bird. A friend may see the same thing and declare it is a sign from a deceased loved one. We have different beliefs and therefore different views on the same event. In this case, our perceptions are the reality as there is no way to know different. In the case of the meme above, nine could walk over and say "I see why you think this is a six. But let me show you how it is actually a nine." Then maybe there are context clues and supporting data (an eight and a ten out of frame, addresses on buildings, whatever!) to prove that the reality is nine. It doesn't make the six's perception any less real... but now that six has the duty to accept that his perception and reality are not the same.
I would say that perception is reality, until we know more. We can only accept what we see and know and believe. The challenge is shifting our perception from just real to true reality once we know more beyond our original scope of sight.
How many times has perception played a role in a disagreement in your life?
I love that you rehashed an earlier argument to demonstrate perception. So smart and probably entertaining, too! I agree that our perception is reality. It’s our reality! But it doesn’t mean that our reality is a fact. Facts and feelings can be so blurry sometimes but separating out facts vs feelings always helps me look at a situation from many different perceptions. Love this post!!
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