I find it fascinating how perspective plays such an integral part in things. Take, for example, the weather. Here in southern California, we’re blessed with truly nice weather the majority of the time. So when we do experience temperatures that dive down to the thirties or colder, folks tend to freak out a bit while others, who live in habitually colder regions, shake their heads at what lightweights we are.
Now I’m the first to admit that I don’t like cold. Actually, I prefer to say that I don’t do cold. But like most southern Californians, I know something the rest of the head-shaking individuals don’t seem to understand. Here in So Cal, we’re at a distinct disadvantage when the thermometer plunges.
To begin with, our bodies are accustomed to living in a warmer climate, and thus we tend to have thinner blood, not exactly conducive to staying warm. Then there’s our clothing. Here, we don’t tend to wear a lot of wool or other materials that insulate most efficiently. Instead, when it gets “cold” we throw on a cotton hoodie over our cotton clothing and are good to go.
So, perspective plays a big role in understanding the various situations folks find themselves in and how they handle themselves once there.
That brings me to the whole part of how folks perceive themselves versus the reality of how they actually are. We all know individuals who think themselves the most in tune compassionate beings when, in fact, they are the biggest jerks. This makes me wonder.
Like having thinner blood and wearing inappropriate clothing that prohibit us from keeping warm, could it be that those who delude themselves into thinking they’re oh-so-wonderful when they’re not, are ill equipped to know otherwise? Might it be that they’re too thickheaded or arrogant, or naive or dense to know otherwise? Could it be that they prefer a beautiful lie to the ugly truth? Or might they be aware, down deep, but too lazy, frightened or unaware of how to make themselves more favorable.
It seems like whenever I’m faced with folks like this, there’s no sense trying to talk with them, for instead of taking the constructive criticism offered as a means to improve upon themselves, they become defensive and lash out, effectively shutting out any valuable sensibilities that might have made a difference in them.
This makes me feel somewhat sad for them while at the same time utterly frustrated that there’s nothing I can do to help. That until the person, themselves is willing to remove their self-inflicted blinders and take note of how others perceive them, then there’s no hope for improvement.
So, like the person living in warmer climates that suddenly finds him or herself faced with temperature changes that plunge, the self-deluded individual needs to get thicker blood, lay down their defenses and thus ingratiate themselves into a climate that they otherwise won’t be able to adapt to.
No comments:
Post a Comment