Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Lenses

Although I think my lenses would be something a little darker, more ominous, maybe a deep purple :)…I am somewhat of a pessimist afterall!


I believe it is literally impossible to understand someone else unless you have walked in their shoes. I have said this before, maybe on my other blog, but I I think each and every one of us sees the world differently, no matter how much we might try and see things from another’s point of view. The events that have shaped my life have given me certain lenses with which I view the world and as much as I try, and hope I can sympathize with others, I cannot disconnect from that which makes me, me.

I think about race relations occasionally because as I’ve mentioned before we have a few different races in my household. Ironically however, I don’t really notice there being any difference between us unless someone else points it out. Anyhow, I was reading this article on CNN.com today and wanted to share. In reference to the article, I cannot, no matter how hard I try, understand what it means to be Black in America, but at the same time someone Black cannot know what it is like to be me. I think it is a starter for a great discussion on what it really means to be in someone else’s shoes, no matter what the topic: race, religion, being a birth parent or being infertile…you name it. We all have our own very unique colored lenses through which we view the world and if we could just try and understand that about others a little more often wouldn’t that make all the difference? :)

2 comments:

Kristin said...

I really like the way he presented both sides of the issue. It helped me understand the two perspectives and how they relate.

the wrath of khandrea said...

i think one of the hugest areas that this is evident is parenting. we are so quick to judge other people on their children's behavior, or on how we perceive they are managing it. really, you have no idea what goes on in some families. having a difficult child really opened my eyes to how much i do that to other people.
interesting.