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Lessons learned from family and friends
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| A few months ago Philip gave me a gift
subscription to E magazine, an environmental publication with lots of
neat stories about how to green our planet. When I made it home to Oma's
cottage the other day the last issue was waiting for me. In it there was
an article on soy and most notably tofu. The article caught my eye
since, as a vegetarian who eats mostly vegan, I enjoy tofu at least
three or four days a week and certainly eat some form of soy products
almost daily. The article presented a detailed case against tofu and soy
products suggesting that it was less than environmentally sound and not
nearly as healthy as I had concluded in my own research.
Having just spent a couple of days reflecting on the various reactions to Barack's win I watched my own response to this tofu article carefully. Did it cause me explore all the leads it presented to try and determine if my ideas about tofu were false? Did it make me question the validity of my stand on the subject? Or was my gut response to look for the biases in the article and dismiss most of it's research as likely funded by some sector that felt threatened by the success of tofu and soy protein products. After some introspective I had to admit to the latter.
It has been said that we can only grasp 20% of a new idea. If that is true then any change in our thinking, even if it does occur, is incremental. What's more, for us to even accept that 20% as valid, it must have credibility and not threaten our sensibilities. So the closer the new information is to our current thinking the more likely we are to accept it as valid. The opposite is true when the information presented contradicts those beliefs and opinions we have worked so hard to secure. When an idea challenges the foundations of our world view we often feel threatened by it and may find ourselves fighting off the 'attacks' in self defense. The stronger the argument presented, the more we cling to the safety and comfort of our old ideas. Paradoxically, the realization that we are hardwired to behave this way has taken me a long time to assimilate into my own world view. When perceiving something "obvious" I still have a tendency to barge into people's lives and trumpet my views with deafening fervor. Never has this been more evident to me (and the rest of you I'm sure) than during the recent US presidential campaign. To me the choice was clear, a no brainier as it were. So when Barack became 'President Elect Obama' on November 4th I was euphoric. Laura and I almost shorted out our keyboards with tears as we watched the acceptance speech in Chicago. During the days that followed I found, surprise, surprise, that not everyone shared my enthusiasm. This was shocking at first since I had gravitated towards those in my community of friends and family who supported Barack for president. But when I had the opportunity to engage in conversation with those who had some reservations and even those who where horrified with the prospect of an Obama administration I realized that the tables had turned.
Ah, and there we are. I could not have made the point better myself. Our opinions are always grounded in reality while others are always grounded in absurd delusions. Its just that some of us are exceedingly more gracious or maybe we are just more guarded about revealing our inherent bias. So where does that leave us? Not sure where it leaves you but I know where it leaves me. It leaves me respecting that everyone is entitled to their opinion. It leaves me to recognize that either by neglect or by piercing analysis we all have much invested in our world view. It leaves me with an understanding that it may be better to share our enthusiasm with likeminded individuals than battling those who have diametrically opposing points of view. Mostly though it reminds me to be more careful not to impose my world view on others. This realization however will not stop me from reveling in my own understanding, joyful at the dawning of a new age of compassion and tolerance. For eight years I have lived in the shadow of darkness. Now its my turn to bathe in the warm glow of the light. It's fun to believe in a dawning of America. Its gratifying to see the enthusiasm and warm emotions shared by millions as we move our consciousness towards compassion and peace. Change happens in the eddies of our thinking not in the torrent of the mainstream. When there are opposing currents it is in the interface between these currents that new ideas find their genesis. It seems to me that the ultra right / religious right has dominated the ethos with their perspective for a long time. If they feel threatened now, maybe its because a new world view is emerging. In sharing my perspective I seek to share my exploration of this new paradigm. A friend recently pointed out to me that in debating our points of view, its not just the person we are addressing that is engaged. It also allows those listening to us to pick out the morsels that speak to them and exposes them to alternate perspectives from which they can synergize their own understanding. I have altered the format on my ideas page and invite you to seek out and select the morsels that speak to you, discuss them with friends and express your views. On a Beam of Light
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Not
many people I know, when confronted with a new idea or perspective on
any subject they feel strongly about, are prepared to dismiss the years
spent nurturing an opinion as a waste of time. When we are introduced to
a concept that contradicts our cherished beliefs we don't usually thank
the person offering the new perspective for their insight and proceed to
change our minds. None of us do. At least I have never experienced it.
Whether I was the one with the "new" concept or the one with
the entrenched opinion the result was always the same. We assimilate new
ideas and change our mind at our own chosen pace, in our own chosen
time.
Four
years earlier I could not believe how blinded people could be by the
Bush Administration. Now I caught myself facing people who feel about
this election the same way I felt in 2004. Of course, "I am right
and they are wrong". We all believe that, don't we? While browsing
the web the other day for references to the statement about people
"clinging to guns, religion and antipathy" I came across a
blog where someone defended her choice to do just that. I was impressed
with her essay not because I agree with her perspective but because she
managed to articulate it. Nevertheless, even as this person admitted the
fact that "most bigots are blinded by their own bigotry" she
went on to prove the point by arguing why her opinion is "grounded
in reality while theirs is grounded in absurd delusions."