Have you ever noticed how 2 people can tell the same story and yet it doesn’t seem like the same story? I’ve particularly seen this with couples, especially after a break up. It would seem like they couldn’t have been in the same marriage. I think only in time does the nuances of memories cement in our brain.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about this lately, as life has been a bit stressful. My reality has not always been what others see. I came across this quote and it really rings true.
“Maybe each human being lives in a unique world, a private world different from those inhabited and experienced by all other humans. . . . If reality differs from person to person, can we speak of reality singular, or shouldn’t we really be talking about plural realities? And if there are plural realities, are some more true (more real) than others? What about the world of a schizophrenic? Maybe it’s as real as our world. Maybe we cannot say that we are in touch with reality and he is not, but should instead say, His reality is so different from ours that he can’t explain his to us, and we can’t explain ours to him. The problem, then, is that if subjective worlds are experienced too differently, there occurs a breakdown in communication … and there is the real illness.”
― Philip K. Dick
Don’t you think understanding another person’s reality is the hardest thing? Its especially true when you think you know and it turns out to be more ‘unique’ than you thought. As he says, the worlds collide and there is the real illness…
Its strange because I am an open book. Its hard for me to think of a single thing that would surprise any of my friends. That is my reality and that’s how I communicate but I know it isn’t everyone’s. Still, seeing through their glasses at their reality is super hard- sometimes in extreme cases impossible but most of the time the act of trying expands our views, our realities, and makes us better people.
I’m trying to expand my view, look at others realities instead of just my own. I don’t know if this will make any sense to anyone else but it makes sense to me.
However, at the end of the day you must also be willing to stand alone. Jesus set the example, standing alone, being spit upon and dragged through the street, nailed to a cross. Through it all He never stopped looking at others realities and having compassion for them. He had compassion for Peter and Thomas who doubted, the Roman guard who chopped off His ear, the fellow prisoners who hung with Him, and even for Judas.
He saw through their reality and yet stood alone. We all have our moments where we must stand alone (even if it is just a perception of standing alone, which again perception is reality). My prophet President Monson spoke about this and it gave me great comfort recently:
“As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone?”
I hope I have the courage to look at the world through other’s eyes, but also to stand alone when necessary. I know I have the faith to stand alone because the Savior understands ALL perfectly. He loves Me and my world perfectly. What a comfort that is. In truth, we are never really standing alone because He is always with us, even when we don’t feel Him near.
