What one perceives may differ from what you perceive. We grew up with different ideologies and beliefs; our level of knowledge and depth of emotion is different from one another. While you may see a glass half full, I may see the glass half empty. How our perception gets formulated is based on what we gather from our surroundings and build our own theories.
Conflict usually arises when our perceptions don't match with others, but most of the time we forget a simple fact that everyone may not view the same way. One man's treasure is another man's junk. You may love a book but maybe someone you know doesn't have a high opinion about it. And maybe, just maybe, your best friend is regarded as obnoxious by someone else. You can be friends with two persons who don't see eye to eye to one another. But they're your friends and perhaps you feel that you know them better than they know each other. It's not highly unlikely. Neither we're supposed to like everybody nore everyone is obligated to be fond of us. To some people, we're just a big fat hindrance.
We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are. - Anais Nin
You may think that you're not getting paid enough for the work you're doing and your supervisor may disagree and think he's not getting enough work out of you; the scenario can be reversed. Waiting in line for coffee or to pay bills never seems fun but how many times do we consider what the person, sitting at the other end of the glass box is going through; almost never. We are our priority. Perhaps you're late for a lunch meeting with an acquaintance and he or she may think you're tardy, perhaps you were attending a pressing matter which your acquaintance isn't aware of.
Think of the person who resorts to stealing; there's nothing much to think about, is there? He's a thief, he steals and robs. We barely contemplate why he does what he does. We chose not to see anything beyond what he appeared to be. Have we thought that he may have responsibilities on his shoulders and couldn't find anything else to do to earn two square meals a day? That doesn't justify thieving but may point out the obvious that we're not seeing the whole picture. Our expectations and the outcome may not be the same and when that happens, disappointment set in.
Adversity teaches us more than our achievements. We compare ourselves with others, we compare our lives. Question and curse our fate why things don't go smoothly for us while others may lead a glorious life. And then we pity someone who's down on her luck. We choose if we want to see the good and bad in others. You may see me as a good person and someone else may say I'm duplicitous; perhaps I'm both but you chose to see one side while he/she picked the other. But why? Perhaps my behavior varies from person to person. Are we supposed to treat everyone the same way? Maybe I found you like-minded or likable hence my attitude is contrasting. I'm not in the same page as you are.
Let's check your horoscope, shall we?
