We all have our own opinions, observations, perspectives that allow us to see the world differently.
Consider this, then. A different version of you exists in the minds of everyone who knows you. And me. All of us.
It’s true.
While many of us are “like-minded” and share similar ways of thinking, there are not two who are alike.
I guess there are a lot of “me’s” in the minds of the beholders.
This phenomenon explains a lot about the world, really. Perhaps there is someone in your life, past or present, who you strongly disliked. It could be anyone. Maybe a braggart, or a liar, or just some noodle-head. Yet, all around, were people who liked this individual and regarded them highly.
We stand in different places, observing different things, I suppose.
I mean, think of this simple fact.
1980 and 2021 are as far apart as 1980 and 1939.
It seems impossible at first glance, but upon closer inspection, we understand this is true. Again. The looking at things.
I continue to try to make sense of the different perspectives which engulf our world. That ones touching us every day of our lives. It seems now, more than ever, we see them and are aware, mainly due to the ease of digitally “connecting” with people on the internet.
Before the advent of this technology, if we wanted our “point of view” to be known publicly, we had to sit down at a typewriter and compose a letter to the editor of a newspaper or magazine. And even then, there were no guarantees our thoughts would appear in that publication.
Conversely, we could write an essay or a book. Again, a lengthy process in itself. But the chances of getting the work published were slim to none. So in the end, our opinions fell on the ears of those sitting around us at the dinner table, or even perhaps, the local church or the local bar, depending on how we may have been inclined.
Back to perspectives. Where we stand affects “what” we see. And there is an incredible amount of things to see in this world.
For instance, that cruise ship we took with family and friends. There was a morgue on board. Yes, cruise ships are legally required to have morgues for the passengers that inevitably will die on each trip. Whoops.
Maybe we didn’t turn to the sea, but to the air, for our travels. The TSA stood and watched as we boarded those planes. Yet, in a government-run experiment, the TSA did not catch 95% of the guns that went through airports. Now there’s something to observe.
Here’s another thought about flying. Over 50% of commercial pilots have admitted to falling asleep while flying a plane. We are experiencing turbulence.
Oh, we say, then it is good to be home.
Well? Our beds can have up to 10 million dust mites.
Because, among other things, if we live a full-aged life, we’re going to have shed over a hundred pounds of our skin.
Which brings me back to all those different versions of ourselves. We are everywhere it seems.
And while we cannot change a single thing about the people we see, we can change ourselves.
And in every minute is the chance — the opportunity — to be the best version of ourselves we can be. Whether anyone else is watching or not.
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“The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.”
— The Dalai Lama
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“Make the most of yourself–for that is all there is of you.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
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“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
— Maya Angelou
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Shedding our skin. Everywhere we stand.
