Seeing the world through new eyes...

Ok, so I've been mulling over my prior post about Uncle Walter for over a week. I've had the sneaking feeling since I posted it that I didn't quite translate my ideas in their entirety. My initial point was to muddy the vision of the American stuck so strongly to his own view of the world that he becomes cynical and cantankerous. But I fear it came across as though I was saying it is wrong for people to have their own opinions period. Of course, this is not the case. So, I tried to break it down a little further in my head and figure out exactly what was bothering me about our country these days.

Everybody has opinions. It's practically impossible not too, and without opinions, nothing would be accomplished. But there are two different approaches to expressing those opinions. There is the act of sharing opinions, and there is the act of defending opinions. The first I liken to a conversation with a friend. You sit back and take turns discussing what's new in your life. It comes through naturally and without effort. The latter, on the other hand, I liken to a battle with an enemy. Your body posture becomes rigid; the conversation is monopolized; your speech is tense and your words calculated. This is where hate sneaks in its ugly little invisible head.

When your mind and body are both positioned like an animal about to be pounced, your subconscious kicks in with the fight or flight response. I myself am likely to fly. I hate confrontation. But many people will buck up and fight. Neither is healthy. For people like me who run away from discussing opinions, we suffer physical ailments from holding things in. We feel guilt for not standing up for our beliefs. We hide who we are as though we are somehow inherently wrong or inferior. Those who fight suffer from troubled relationships, anger issues, and detachment. But, both parties suffer the most from the same thing: never getting the chance to see the world through someone else's eyes.

We live here once- well, unless you believe in reincarnation. But, even if that is the case, we only live in this body in this time in this place once. Why would we not want to take the chance to see the world in as many different ways as we possibly can while we're here?

The good news is we don't have to fight, or flee. We can simply share our opinions with others as openly and freely as if we were discussing the weather. But the only way to do this is to place unconditional respect onto each other. And, this requires risk, which means the fighters need to try to let down their guard, and the flyers need to stand up. The only hindrance to this is when the farce of wrong and right enters the picture. As long as we all admit that no one knows, that we are all on an even playing field, this can take place. In the words of another Ben Folds song-

"So, why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's ok if you don't know everything.
So why you gotta act like you know when you don't know?
It's ok- if you don't know everything."

I mean, really, when it comes down to it, what's more important- being right or respecting (aka loving) each other?


I was looking through the website for The Lovely Bones movie tonight and just seeing the images of it, I got pulled right back into the story and its many colors. I decided that if I ever write a book, that is the kind of story I want to write. The kind of story in which beautiful colors just stream from the pages into your soul as you read. So I decided to try to get a photo of my story. Maybe it will inspire me to write it.