When we look out at the world what we see is based on our own position in that moment. Our perspective is shaped by our experiences and how we have managed to process them or in many cases, how we have failed to process them.
The world we view we create tints the glasses of everything we see and everyone we interact with, it is a filter from which we now process and if we do not pay attention, our filter can trick us into believing it is accurate and that we have clarity in understanding the circumstances.
The way we judge the world and all of the people within is actually a simple reflection of who we are. The stance of the observer is always reflected in the judgements they have of the observed. The only way to have a clear view of the world is to be able to hold all positions simultaneously and having no preference for right or wrong.
This judgement as we look out from ourselves places a value on what we see and ranks it based on whether we like or dislike it. We look at the appearance of someone, their clothes and the marks on their face and create a narrative as to what kind of person they are. The story however is a simplified version of events we do not know yet, we reach a conclusion thinking we understand who they are and why they are a certain way.
We live in a world that is increasingly insensitive in the judgement others yet also, increasing in the confidence that we are right in our judgements. What does that say about us?
Perhaps we do this because of the time constraints we now have as our attention is continually pulled this way and that by a myriad activities and demands that did not exist until relatively recently. It is possible that we are stretching our abilities too thinly and too widely across life.
In the past, we were much more likely to have the time to sit down at the end of the day and think without the pressures of having to do something. Inevitably, this would lead to a fair amount of self-reflection, something that is increasingly reducing on average across the globe. It is reducing so much that there are entire movements like mindfulness that have sprung up (and been monetized) to reconnect people to something that was an ordinary part of everyday life, themselves.
The way society has shifted has pushed people to strive for individuality driven by a consumption of mass products in media, news and material items. We are continually chasing the new whatever we just heard about without actually considering ourselves in the mix. We have been led to believe that individuality is having something, not being something. It may be a haircut, a pair of jeans, a new gadget or the latest information but, it is a process of addition.
When chasing something, the eyes must stay on the object but this leaves little attention to look in other directions and no ability to stop and look within, as to stop may be to lose the what is being chased.
This means that our judgements of the world are made fast and dirty as we are more interested in continuing our own quest. They flash by our vision and unless we can see an obvious value in them (being able to help us add to our collection) we will stamp them useless and run past thinking we have given them a fair judgement. Even if our evaluation is a highly generalised view based on a narrow band of factors, seen through severely shaded filters.
This is a reflection on us but since we are moving so quickly, we are unable to see ourselves in the mirror of our own judgements. This means that in our misunderstood quest for individuality we have lost ourselves in the chase for all we see is our prey in front. And where the rabbit runs, we follow, like greyhounds on a track.
Whoever controls the rabbit, controls the direction and the more they can convince people into wanting rabbits, the larger their controlled base becomes. How individual are we if the rabbits we chase are powered and manipulated by the very governments and corporations that we are trying to gain independence from?
And the people we have judged through severe generalizations are also lost to us when we cast them aside as if they are irrelevant. This lack of thoughtful interaction further divides people and makes them feel individualistic yet, most are acting in a very predictable and automatic function. It becomes many people thinking they are vastly different from the next, while all do the same things.
But, if we slow for a time being and start to reevaluate our own processes of evaluation, we may start to change how we view the world or at least, see the filters we use. For example, we will often judge the clothes someone wears as a representation of them but, how often do you look at their clothes and ask what your preferences upon them tell about you?
Our judgements are a mirror into ourselves and we can discover a lot about who we are through understanding why we like or dislike the things we do. When we look out and judge, we are actually projecting ourselves onto the world which means that if we pay attention, we are actually simultaneously looking in.
I have a lot more to explore in this area but I will end this section of it here, if we think we are individuals yet spend no time reflecting on who we truly are, how can we possibly know?
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]