Interpreting the World...

It amuses me to think of how completely naïve I was once upon a time. (Some people would say I should be talking in the present tense) But I know things have changed with me now. There was a time when I rarely questioned information that came to me. Especially that which I read in the papers. I lived in a false but ideal world. I thought no one would say things that weren’t true! (If you’re not rolling on the floor laughing, you were or maybe still are like I was in school).

The truth is that nobody is true all the time. Especially when it comes to saving one’s skin. Information is tweaked, camouflaged, altered and at times transformed completely. It is looked at from different angles thus leading to different versions of the same information. Sometimes, the tweaking of information doesn't happen on purpose but because of the perception filter that comes from the background and experiences of the person passing on the information. It is the clichéd story of a half-empty/half-full glass. In the final analysis, information is almost always modified to suit one’s purpose and information gaps most often filled. To suit one’s own interests. You do it. I do it. We all do it. The degree to which we do it varies; depending on our values – truth, honesty – or even our inability to lie, lack of street-smartness, inability to differentiate between the good and bad consequences of doing something of this sort and adopting a ‘blanket value’ across all situations are some of the reasons why the situation is so. On top of this, interpretations and perceptions of the truth differ from person to person!

Given this, what are we all harping about in this big 'bad' world? We are acting on false information. We are acting on biased views. We are not acting on the truth. Is there such a thing as truth and if so is that visible to all of us? Newspapers don’t deliver facts. People don’t deliver facts. There is a complete dearth of genuine people and even the few genuine people that we see are perceived to be either stupid or inexperienced or cunning! (That is another topic of discussion). We are living in a make-believe world. No wonder Shakespeare said “the world is a stage and we are all actors”.

Note: History has been reported wrongly many a time. Geography can be a matter of perception and location of the self. The truth in science may still lie un-discovered. Language can be used completely to one’s advantage. Maths is perhaps the only subject that is ‘true’. Actually, come to think of it, even numbers can be misrepresented. :(

:( 8 Well, I was not really planning to paint such a bleak picture of the world! But it is important that we take cognizance of the fact that we all see the world through our own coloured window and others’ coloured windows but the world may, in reality, be pure white or pitch black. Discarding these windows is essential for us to tackle the world in a fair manner. But discarding it may also leave us without, what we call, ‘My perspective’, which is what can be disturbing. For, ‘My perspective’ is the ego’s vent; something that the ego cannot do without. So, can there be an egoless state that still allows you to have your own perspective – a perspective that treats the world well?

Don’t ask me what I mean by this post…..please! I simply typed as I thought…