Perception is Reality

"One person's craziness is another person's reality."  

~Tim Burton~

The past few days have really forced me to think about how different people's perceptions can be.  One person's truth is not necessarily another's.  This can sometimes make arguments challenging because 2 people can perceive the same situation completely different.  (Sorry if this feels a little out of context but I feel like I need to work it through... please let me know if I make any sense!) 


Why does this happen?  No two people grow up in the same environment and by nature everyone is different.  So, as we grow we are exposed to different things and we start to make our own set of rules for 'normal'.  Everyone will have their own set of rules.


Another explanation, is that sometimes we alter reality to paint ourselves in a better light.  Maybe we feel guilty about how we handled the situation or feel we didn't do as much as we should have.  Maybe we simply forgot some key details.  Regardless of the reason, reality can be different from one person to another.  


I think that it's important to always remember that every person can have a different perception.  Although we may remember things one way, that way may not be accurate. Although this can lead to problems, accuracy is not all that important.  Listening and understanding is.  Any disagreement or argument should not consist of people attacking one's perceptions.  We should first actively listen.  Once we have listened, it is important to understand the core of the problem and ignore the surrounding fluff that is sometimes construed by the other person's altered reality.  Once we've done that, we should take a look at ourselves and be honest about our role in the situation.  Only then can we be constructive and try to merge the two realities into one. 


My goal is to follow this advice.  I think it is important to take inventory of yourself before sizing up someone else.  I think that at the core, most people's actions, wants and needs are the same.  Unfortunately, emotions usually get in the way of us taking the time to get to the core of a situation.  Sometimes it helps to break a situation down to the most basic level and work our way up.