I want to share something important that I've learned.
Oh yeah. I love learning new things.
And then again, what I learn isn't necessarily important for you.
Why would you say that?
Life is like that, not all things I learn are important to you. And vice versa.
I'm losing you.
Let me explain using a simple example. My son knows how to throw a "nasty" curve ball. I didn't teach it to him. Someone on youtube did.
He plays baseball?
Yes, he plays the highest level of baseball in our city for his age group. But that's not my point. He knows something I don't. I don't need to learn how to do it.
But don't you want to teach others?
Sure, but I believe a teacher should be able to do before telling someone how to.
Isn't that the opposite of that old saying, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach"?
Not all sayings are universally true. There's truth in them, but there will be always an exception. I guess I'm one of the exceptions.
You do look at the world different.
If you live your life guided by sayings and quotes, you're living your life through others' perceptions. What did you want to share?
It's basically that. Our perceptions are biased by our life experiences and the things we think we know.
Isn't experience the best teacher in life?
Sometimes. Yet other times, experience is just an experience.
But if the lesson is not learned, the experience resurfaces.
Again, maybe. We're getting off subject. Let me share the idea of perceptions. Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?
Of course. Every time I'm in the bathroom.
And who do you see?
Me of course.
You're making an assumption the mirror is the right reflection, there is no bend in the glass, the right lamination, lighting and your eyes aren't playing silly games.
But I look the same each time.
Are you sure about that? Do you look the same when you get a picture taken?
I hate seeing pictures of myself.
I don't know how new cameras work, but the old ones used mirrors to capture an image. The minute the angle changes most people don't like what they see of themselves. Yet everyone else sees them exactly the way they have always been.
Get close up and look at your pores around your nose, or cheeks.
Oouf, I'd rather not.
Is that not still you?
I guess.
Better yet, when you speak, do you hear your voice?
Yes.
Do you like to hear yourself talk.
I never really thought about it. But I don't mind talking.
Have you ever heard your voice recorded?
Oh my. I hate it.
But isn't it still you?
Yes. But it embarrasses me that I sound that way. My voice sounds so tinny.
You just have a different perspective. Whether you record your voice, videotape your actions or have pictures taken, technology captures you as you actually are. Yet you don't like it because it doesn't sound or look like the way you think you are.
Huh?
Your perception of what you look like and sound like is only yours. The rest of the world sees you differently.
Why would you say that?
I have a friend who uses Equine Facilitated Training to pull out these obstructions in a person's perceptions.
What is that?
She takes a horse and gets the individual to interact with the horse.
Why a horse? Aren't dogs better for comfort?
I asked the same question. Animals can be either predator or prey. Horses are one of the only domesticated animals that are always prey. If you have an aggressive attitude, the horse will sense it and be afraid. If you are calm, the horse will sense peace and will approach you.
So a horse is like a mirror?
It's the best mirror. It looks directly into your soul and shows you exactly who you are. Reflective mirrors lie. Horses do not.
So how is this important to me?
It's a curve ball. You decide if it is or not. Just remember the person you think you are might not be the person everyone else sees. Whether good or bad...
That's counterintuitive.
The person you hate in the those pictures is the person everyone else knows. How are you not depressed all the time?
Good question...
