A part of us is what we perceive to be.
A part of us is what others perceive us to be.
Which is the real 'us' and what percentages work best for a peaceful life?
The other day I was trying to convince somebody on why it is ok for a brahmin to marry a non-brahmin, and how all human beings are born equal and deserve equal respect. Can you guess the results of my attempt? Na, I could not convince...
And then there was this argument on whether females should work outside of the home or not, and yet again, I failed to convince the person.
These things got me thinking, how/when and whether our perceptions should change. Yes, agreed that, whatever we are, our life is based on our set of values and perceptions about life and world. As our values change, we change as a person. But exactly when we start becoming better or worse, it is difficult to judge.
I am watching myself changing perceptions as I have grown and migrated from village to town to city to abroad and all the way back again (I still live in a village, a small town, a town and a city to get a feel of all). Whether all of them were for good, I can't say. But yes, as a person I have changed, definitely. For better or worse, nobody can say, because these things are so relative and vary from person to person, nobody can make a judgement or concluding remark.
I think the core set of values/perceptions never change though, and probably they make the 90% of the person who we are. And the 'social' values that is the remaining 10%, keeps on changing. All the problem starts when we focus on the 10% rather than the 90%...
Anyway, the point is, as our perceptions make us what we are, it is so difficult to convince people otherwise. Even if most of the world thinks that it is a wrong perception, it is still difficult to convince the person. Reason may be, as the perception changes, the person has to change, and it becomes extremely difficult when there is no willingness. One has to let go of her identity and become another person altogether, it is surely not easy. But sometimes, it might be the right thing to do.
So, go ahead and embrace change for better...whenever that is the right thing to do, that causes less pain to somebody and that embraces humans.
Change is inevitable, and change there will be, we have to decide our course - for it or against it - in all aspects of life.
My theory of perception is, see everybody's perception and empathaize, that helps to understand the person and handle the situation in a better way.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The theory of perception
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We're brought into this world with a blank slate. The environment in which we grow up 'passively' for the first few years shapes our inner being. We take in a lot of things without really questioning. Most of it stays for the bigger part of our life unless we start questioning things that we've taken in. And we don't question them unless a situation arises and we're forced. Some use that opportunity and some don't and stick to whatever someone or something else has put into them. So, that's what is their in our inner being. And how it gets shaped is influenced by the circumstances and events we've been exposed to. When you say we've to understand others' point of view, it means that you've to necessarily appreciate the fact that had you been exposed to different circumstances and event, you would have been a different person. It's such a humbling experience! That's why some say - don't judge anyone. But learn from others. Given the infinitesimality of our experiences, we can never at any point deem ourselves confident enough to have a strong opinion about anything, except for a very few things. So, with all this, I feel confused as to what self-perception could be. Can we say 'this is what I am'? We're in a state of constant flux, mostly inside, as long as we keep questioning ourselves and stay curious about things.
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