What is perception?
One definition, according to Merriam-Webster, is the way you think about or understand someone or something. That’s simple, I guess. But is it?
I mean, there are so many misunderstandings in this world that happen everyday at every hour. In relationships, between siblings, between nations, between religions, and about every single thing can become a misunderstanding. Why?
As humans we should have the ability to be perceptive, because seriously, I think it would save us a lot of trouble. The ability to think about and understand someone is one of the important skills very useful for communication. However, apparently, it is a skill many of us lack under stressful situations.
Sometimes, when we go to the store or market, we might go to the pay and find ourselves with this horrendous cashier. I mean, she looks like she could have killed someone today. As you dump your groceries, she mindless stares down and mechanically runs them through in less than a second. She doesn't speak a word to you. Her face is swollen, and her hands and hair appear to have been through some oil treatment. “Whatever,” you tell yourself, “she’s a waste of time”. What did you perceive?
What you didn't know was that this lady was a hero. She had recently lost her second child to cancer, and her first child had down syndrome problems, for whom she had to pay the doctor for the extra treatments. She was a single mother, since her husband had died in the war about a year ago. She had been fired from her previous job, because of her lack of enthusiasm and work ethic. She barely had time to grab some decent food that evening. What did you perceive?
Is the lady worth less than that brilliant soccer player, than that multibillionaire business owner, than your very successful engineering neighbor? Is she less than you?
How you perceive people, situations, and places I think has to do a lot with YOUR OWN experiences. I have found that the more I travel, the more I talk to people, the more I see things, the more I learn things, the more I read, basically the more I absorb, the less easily am I to make judgement.
I seriously cannot look at people and only see a human body. When I meet someone, I try to understand their essence. Without any judgment. When I visit a new place, I try to keep an open mind, and absorb everything. Just with the simple act of being perceptive, of being aware of the facts, allows me a greater understanding of the MULTIPLE (not two) sides to the story.
Expectations most of the time get in the way of our perceptions, and that is where we start formulating these distinct attributes to the subject at hand. Because you expect poor, diminished people to look like the cashier lady, you immediately jump to conclusions. So, what? We shouldn't have expectations? No, I think we should have expectations, but I also think that having compassion will help in our perception.
Compassion can be the balance point that can lead to that pause in our minds to allow us to think twice (sometimes more) about what we are really seeing.
Step out of your expectations. Step out of your eyes. Step of out of your comfort zone, and start looking for the hidden messages in the sky.
Have a great day!!! :)