Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?
Report cards usually supported my own self bias of believing I possessed an acceptable level of intelligence. Yet, I never really had the confidence/ignorance/whatever to be 100% sure about anything. Instead, it was just a feeling of only thinking I know. As I’ve grown older I have actually managed to acquire a few certainties along.
The first of which was the realization of the more I learn and “know” about this life, the less I truly understand. We, as a species, only know what we think we know. But how much do we really know? You will rarely, if ever, find me in a debate where I’ll claim I’m right, you’re wrong. That’s not my style. Im aware that I might be wrong, regardless of how right I may believe. Hopefully, I am able to make a case for how I may be right. But my primary goal is to make a compelling enough case for you to see how you might be wrong. Under most circumstances I consider it a win of we both walk away acknowledging that possibility, however small.
I assume I’m like most people in believing our way is the best way. I mean, what are ya doing with yourself if you don’t have that belief? None of us really have the ability to tell someone else the best way to live their life. With that said, I now share my second certainty. I whole heartedly believe the world would be an immensely better place if my life’s motto was present in every human. If not adopted, an acknowledgement would likely suffice. Arguments, fights, debates, wars and the like within our species dates back as far as it species itself. The majority of which can likely be contributed to the prejudices engrained in us from the world we entered. Naturally, my world is better than your world and there’s countless reasons to support that. I know my world, considering it’s the only world I know, it would be a little odd if it wasn’t the best right? It’s easy to see how that is a natural way of thinking. What I fail to understand is how people seem to be so incapable of acknowledging their complete ignorance when it comes to someone else’s world. Two worlds might be 70% intertwined with each other but we still don’t know the path someone else’s shoes have trekked. Much less if it’s someone from an entirely different culture half a globe away.
It’s all relative.
I wish everyone would realize that. It’s universally applicable to essentially every aspect of this life. Most conflicts, especially those of the social media variety, are the equivalent of this example…
I stand 6’3. Group A believes to the very cores of their souls that I am tall. They exert an insane amount of energy defending that belief. Group B disagrees and exerts an equal amount of energy making their beliefs known to group a. The disagreement develops into distain for the other group. A shit storm of hate develops for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Which results in the formation of group C. Rather than being forced to hop on the A or B train l. They made the C train because they don’t see me as short or tall, being 6’3 themselves.
The war of A&B along with the alienation of C was simply due to the failed recognition of “It’s all relative”. Countless lives were negatively affected for no reason because everyone was actually correct the whole time. One would think someone would’ve said, “holy fuck, they’re like 3 feet taller than us. No wonder they think he’s short.” Something like that should be obvious but everyone was either too busy expressing why they’re right or how the others were wrong.
If I stumble upon a one-wish genie, my wish would be that all humans would consider the relativity of their situation.
Humane humans make humanity happened.
Outlook From Nowhere 