There are 7.5 billion people on the planet and we all share the same world. As Tony Stark says in the Iron Man movie, “We have an imperfect world but it’s the only one that we got.”
I feel however, that there is not just one world but 7.5 billion of them. Well, at least figuratively speaking that is. By that what I mean to say is, each person is their own world.
You see, every person is different from the other in some way or the other. As they say, no two people are alike, not even twins! We all have our own opinions on everything, and our perspective towards life differs vastly.
That’s because we are all leading different lives to each other. Since our birth, we have all had radically different life experiences that have shaped us into who we are today.
When Worlds Collide
We keep meeting new people every now and then. It might be at a bus stop, at a club, at college, online, or anywhere else for that matter. When two new people meet and talk about stuff, it’s like worlds colliding.
That’s because every single individual has a story to tell. A story so different to yours that it really opens your eyes to the fact that there are people with completely different sets of problems, opinions, skills and experiences and that you can learn a great deal from them.
Well, that is how it should happen. But, more often than not, what I notice in the modern age is that, people are quick to judge and form completely wrong opinions of other people just because they live in their cocoon of familiarity where they feel safe and where hate comes easier than love.
Haven’t we all noticed this? Many people these days are narrow minded where they feel the need to be right all the time and have simply no tolerance and/or empathy towards other people’s views. This is typically seen online but can be noticed easily in the real world too.
Step Into Someone’s Shoes
F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” I guess, we are not first-rate intelligence after all.
There is nothing that limits you more than your limited perspectives. That’s because you would then be reluctant to new ideas and it’s these ideas that the world is run by and that have been the reason why we are where we are today, as a species.
There is one more important angle to this. Seeing things from other people’s view point is very important because it lets you see their side of the story and it really makes you understand why they do what they do or why they are the way they are.
If we could all do this, the world would be a much friendlier place where chaos and hostility wouldn’t exist and we would all be living in harmony rather than with insecurity.
It’s OK!!
I guess, as we were growing up, we simply were not taught about these things and we’ve become that way just because we see other people doing the same. So, let me tell you today that, it’s OK!
It’s ok when people have differing ideas to yours. That’s how it should be. The world would be a really boring place if we all had the same ideas all the time. There would be no progress at all!
It’s ok when some people are sometimes rude to you. They are probably having a bad day or going through a difficult time in their lives and are probably just acting out.
It’s ok when you make mistakes or when you’re proven wrong. You don’t have to be right all the time and you sure as heck don’t have to be perfect, no matter how much the world makes you think that you need to!