Seeing is believing, but is believing seeing?

Our life experiences are what allow us to see things in a way that is completely different than one another. You may be able to get your point across to someone who sees an issue differently that you, but no matter how loud you raise your voice, you can’t change a person’s mind if they are sure of their own opinion. We all have varying points of view, and every person’s opinion is perfectly valid to them.

With controversial topics such as religious freedom and police brutality it is easy for a person to write off one side and fully dismiss their opposing stance on these issues.

We will never see eye to eye on every single aspect of life, and quite frankly life would be pretty boring if we did. Is the dress black and blue or is it gold and white? Is there even a right or wrong answer? Because of the way our brains are wired, at times we can see things vastly different.

We all want to be able to look at a situation and mentally sort it into its own category of either right or wrong. However, sometimes when you look at a situation it may not necessarily fit into a specific category. It makes us extremely uncomfortable if we aren’t able to identify something as a part of those two categories. It’s so easy for us all to take a look at something and automatically decide whether it is right or wrong and then move on. But who is to say there is a right or wrong? Things can’t possibly be that cut and dry in life.

People who think a little different or perhaps outside of the box may scare us and we may automatically tune them out before they even have the chance to get their idea across. We’ll never know how many truly amazing ideas we may be missing out on hearing because we are labeling people as wrong and shutting them out before they even had the chance to get in.

The most exciting part of human interaction is getting to know people on a deeper level, finding out the intricate details that make up who they are and how their mind works.

We all could benefit from keeping an open mind and listening to others’ opinions instead of shutting them out and thinking of what our next argument will be. Some of the most intelligent people are great listeners and often can be found listening more than they are speaking.

In the future, when you are faced with a conversation where opinions are of opposite spectrums approach it just as you would before crossing a busy street; stop, look and listen. Stop thinking of how you are going to justify your own opinion. Look at the situation at hand and analyze it from all sides and listen to the opposing view with an honest open mind. Only then can you be prepared to cross the busy street of others’ perceptions and be able to respectfully get your point across to the other side.

The entire human race is constantly growing and changing and is far too complex to ever be defined by one opinion. Don’t ever be afraid to express your opinion, but most importantly, know when to shut up and let others be heard.