The Blessing Of Different Perspectives

Marcus Aurelius said, “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not a truth.”

This quote reminds me of the world we are living in right now. There are so many topics and issues to ponder and everyone has an opinion. Everyone has an opinion on their governments depending on what sides of the divide their loyalty lies.

People have opinions on home schooling, global pandemic, Covid and other vaccines, climate change, human trafficking, organised religion, political affiliations, conspiracy theories, news network, sports clubs and movies.

In my nation, Nigeria, we face regular attacks from Boko Haram terrorist group, struggles between farmers, land owners and cattle herders resulting in regular and shameful loss of lives.

Again our opinions on these issues sometimes blind us to the fact that this is a crisis that is needlessly wasting lives.

People are sometimes judged by the court of popular opinion which is often based on people’s myopic and narrow minded perspectives of matters they know nothing about.

Sadly our world is fragmented and some people have deviously taken advantage of our need to belong to push their own perspectives to the point of brainwashing; resulting in people who have given over themselves to mind control.

There is nothing wrong with having or sharing an opinion, but it’s wrong to force your opinion on others or make enemies of people simply because they refuse to agree with yours.

Sadly I’ve seen family members who aren’t on good terms because of different perspectives. Some have threatened or shamed their family members, intimidated their communities and threatened their neighbours and colleagues.

We also see this in government and other parts of societies and it is a form of bullying.

Someone recently said a congress woman was not elected to vote with her conscience. She is meant to tow the party lines ‘regardless’. That is a scary thing to hear and even scarier to think that many actually agree with her.

So how can we respond to this?

Respect others

You don’t have to agree with other people’s opinion or perspective, but you do have to respect them as people and respect their right to have an opinion.

Part of respecting them also means that you don’t pressure them to agree with you and you don’t bully, embarrass, berate, judge or vilify them for not agreeing with you.

Respect yourself

I love how Amber Veal puts it in the quote that says, “Before you argue with someone, ask yourself, is that person even mentally mature enough to grasp the concept of different perspectives? Because if not, there’s absolutely no point.”

Part of respecting yourself requires you to be astute in understanding your audience, choosing to protect your mental wellbeing and knowing when to walk away from unfruitful and unfriendly conversations that will go nowhere. Some minds are made up even before a conversation starts.

Educate yourself

Just because someone you love, respect, trust or revere says something, it doesn’t mean they are right. And it doesn’t mean you can’t think for yourself.

Give yourself permission to investigate and be open-minded to learning some hard truths. Yes, I know it is painful to realise you have been wrong, deluded or deceived, but I say ‘better late than never’.

Educate others

When you realise you have believed a lie and shared a wrong perspective, it’s okay to admit it, make a u-turn and then educate others. Remember how long and painful it took you to finally face the truth, so don’t expect instant ‘miracles’ of them agreeing with you and don’t be frustrated if they refuse to listen.

In conclusion, make a decision to be open-minded going forward. You owe that much to yourself. You are not a zombie and you’ve been gifted with a brain that is powerful and intricate. Use it.

On a lighter note, I can’t help but chuckle as I leave you with the quote from Mark Twain which says, “Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

Thank you for reading and sharing my post. Have an awesome week.