Last week I penned a post, "You Don't Know Me." I wrote, in part,
What is his assessment based on? He and I have never met in person nor spoken on the telephone. Our sole contact has been through this medium called the internet. So, his assessment is based on my writing ability alone!
I'm a darn good writer. It is one of my innate abilities and a skill I continually work to improve upon. I have a way with words and this "way" can be very lyrical, at times. Through my writing, I am fairly proficient at organizing my thoughts to present them in a seamless manner. Consequently, via my writing, I present a certain personality to the world.
My face-to-face personality, however, is much different. In fact, if any of you met me, you might not be able to fathom how such a disorganized and disheveled person could appear to be so organized and neat through the written form! The lesson here should be obvious: What we each "see" of an individual via a blog or website is nothing more than a blurry thumbnail of that person. While we may think we know who he or she is, we only see what that person is willing to show through the written or spoken word.
The second way this point was driven home was from a new book, The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon
I received yesterday from my local library. I have quickly discovered that the John Lennon I thought I knew via his music only scratches the barest of surfaces of the man himself. Because I have been a lifelong and devoted Beatles fan, I thought I knew who the Fab Four were/are, but I am now realizing I don't really know squat!!
Regardless of the venue or situation, we humans have a penchant for deluding ourselves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We catch the barest glimpses of people or circumstances and then create the whole picture in our minds -- pictures that often are an injustice to the actuality.
We have enough difficulty in genuinely knowing ourselves, yet we think we can know others through and through?
...by reading this blog, you don't know me. You see glimpses of my thought processes. You are provided with the opportunity to walk with me down paths of my choosing. You get inklings of what I am about. However, despite the fact I am more open than many, none of you knows who I am.This point has been driven home to me again today in two different ways. The first way concerns a back-and-forth in the comments sections of one of the blogs I regularly visit. I made an offhanded comment that it was a good thing I chose not to be a parent. The host begged to differ. He offered that I was a wise person and, in his opinion, he thought I would have been a good parent.
What is his assessment based on? He and I have never met in person nor spoken on the telephone. Our sole contact has been through this medium called the internet. So, his assessment is based on my writing ability alone!
I'm a darn good writer. It is one of my innate abilities and a skill I continually work to improve upon. I have a way with words and this "way" can be very lyrical, at times. Through my writing, I am fairly proficient at organizing my thoughts to present them in a seamless manner. Consequently, via my writing, I present a certain personality to the world.
My face-to-face personality, however, is much different. In fact, if any of you met me, you might not be able to fathom how such a disorganized and disheveled person could appear to be so organized and neat through the written form! The lesson here should be obvious: What we each "see" of an individual via a blog or website is nothing more than a blurry thumbnail of that person. While we may think we know who he or she is, we only see what that person is willing to show through the written or spoken word.
The second way this point was driven home was from a new book, The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon
I received yesterday from my local library. I have quickly discovered that the John Lennon I thought I knew via his music only scratches the barest of surfaces of the man himself. Because I have been a lifelong and devoted Beatles fan, I thought I knew who the Fab Four were/are, but I am now realizing I don't really know squat!!Regardless of the venue or situation, we humans have a penchant for deluding ourselves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We catch the barest glimpses of people or circumstances and then create the whole picture in our minds -- pictures that often are an injustice to the actuality.
We have enough difficulty in genuinely knowing ourselves, yet we think we can know others through and through?
This is another example of how we only see in part. There is always a bigger picture; bigger than anything we can see. Our views, our perspectives, are so limited - hence the no-mind spoken of in Zen.
ReplyDelete"I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?" John Lennon