I know I'm not the only one who does some deep brainstorming about the purposes of life while bathing.
Who's with me?
In fact, I've been practicing this from a young age: telling myself mid-shower that those girls in gym class are simply moody and might just be my friends next week; thinking about the fact that everything I've been told needs to be weighed and balanced within my own mind before accepting it as fact (wish I would've listened to my own advice at all times instead of faltering now and then with this one!)
So what was my method this time?
Bubble bath with peppermint oil and a pint of Graeter's ice cream in hand.
#igohard
My thoughts were going hard too with all the controversy I've been reading about/hearing about/watching regarding world news, presidential campaigns, halftime shows...
And sometimes my mind does this strange, "zooming out" thing-- where I feel a bit overwhelmed trying to sort information from both sides of the arguments, and trying to solidify some type of stance while soaking in our old-fashioned bathtub, or feeling the streams of the shower warm my mind.
And I start to think that maybe there are skills that humankind is not putting enough attention into-- or into which they are not putting enough importance.
One such skill is the ability to see issues or life experiences through the perspectives of others. This skill is critical to social change, personal wellness, success in groups...
A poorly honed perspective skill leads to faltering friendships, destroyed marriages and romantic relationships, split churches, empty churches, political confusion, war, corruption, greed, racism, sexism, hate... my list could go on.
I know this skill takes a lifetime to perfect, but there are individuals around us that will live and die without ever giving this skill a single thought. They will exist within the ideals they don't even consciously live by, and make their decisions and judgments without thinking about why they came to them. They won't ever think about why their coworker or peer has a perspective or stance, or even why they have a particular perspective or stance. They do not even register this skill as one to further for themself or for their goals.
Taking a second to breathe, humble oneself, and try one's best to try to understand another person's reasoning can make an incredible difference in our own lives-- as well as within our societies as a whole. When we make a stand that this skill is important, others listen, and with more and more people working to hone their perspective skill, the more peace and justice we live amidst.
It sounds oversimplifying and idealist, but it's a start towards progress, equality, or just being able to help one more person feel heard and undivided. Open-mindedness is not ignorant, a waste of time, or risky-- it is freeing for the host and the other party; it is an educated decision and is educating for all those who practice it; it leads to progress in society and social services, in religion and spirituality, in careers and in schools, and even in the study of medicine, mental health, and wellness programs.
Think with me here:
When a person is hired in a senior living facility, does it help to see an elderly woman as someone babbling on about the past-- lacking any reason for their perspective? Or is it more enjoyable for both the resident and the employee for the woman to be seen as a beautiful individual full of stories, memories, and wisdom and lessons learned?; or as a being with a perspective that can help the employee understand her resident more-- no matter if it is right or wrong?
What about when a new person arrives at a church. Does it help to incessantly urge them to another opinion for which you feel you have solid evidence, or to calmly hear out their own, acknowledging that they have reasons behind their thinking, and may even have a better social understanding than your years around the like-minded have given you?
Or how about politicians: does it help to hire someone within our government that gives long-winded, opinion-filled speeches without time for listening to those he or she may govern? Where is their perspective skill and how do they expect to serve their people well without it?
Or what about our own friends: taking to social media and small groups their misinformed and perspective lacking dogma, jargon, spoon-fed phrases... Having the audacity to speak about perspectives they have never studied or listened to-- perspectives of races they've never been, genders they've never lived as, peoples to which they've never spoken...
And that, my friends, is why I've learned to just take the ice cream in the bathtub with me.
Who's with me?
In fact, I've been practicing this from a young age: telling myself mid-shower that those girls in gym class are simply moody and might just be my friends next week; thinking about the fact that everything I've been told needs to be weighed and balanced within my own mind before accepting it as fact (wish I would've listened to my own advice at all times instead of faltering now and then with this one!)
So what was my method this time?
Bubble bath with peppermint oil and a pint of Graeter's ice cream in hand.
#igohard
My thoughts were going hard too with all the controversy I've been reading about/hearing about/watching regarding world news, presidential campaigns, halftime shows...
And sometimes my mind does this strange, "zooming out" thing-- where I feel a bit overwhelmed trying to sort information from both sides of the arguments, and trying to solidify some type of stance while soaking in our old-fashioned bathtub, or feeling the streams of the shower warm my mind.
And I start to think that maybe there are skills that humankind is not putting enough attention into-- or into which they are not putting enough importance.
One such skill is the ability to see issues or life experiences through the perspectives of others. This skill is critical to social change, personal wellness, success in groups...
A poorly honed perspective skill leads to faltering friendships, destroyed marriages and romantic relationships, split churches, empty churches, political confusion, war, corruption, greed, racism, sexism, hate... my list could go on.
I know this skill takes a lifetime to perfect, but there are individuals around us that will live and die without ever giving this skill a single thought. They will exist within the ideals they don't even consciously live by, and make their decisions and judgments without thinking about why they came to them. They won't ever think about why their coworker or peer has a perspective or stance, or even why they have a particular perspective or stance. They do not even register this skill as one to further for themself or for their goals.
Taking a second to breathe, humble oneself, and try one's best to try to understand another person's reasoning can make an incredible difference in our own lives-- as well as within our societies as a whole. When we make a stand that this skill is important, others listen, and with more and more people working to hone their perspective skill, the more peace and justice we live amidst.
It sounds oversimplifying and idealist, but it's a start towards progress, equality, or just being able to help one more person feel heard and undivided. Open-mindedness is not ignorant, a waste of time, or risky-- it is freeing for the host and the other party; it is an educated decision and is educating for all those who practice it; it leads to progress in society and social services, in religion and spirituality, in careers and in schools, and even in the study of medicine, mental health, and wellness programs.
Think with me here:
When a person is hired in a senior living facility, does it help to see an elderly woman as someone babbling on about the past-- lacking any reason for their perspective? Or is it more enjoyable for both the resident and the employee for the woman to be seen as a beautiful individual full of stories, memories, and wisdom and lessons learned?; or as a being with a perspective that can help the employee understand her resident more-- no matter if it is right or wrong?
What about when a new person arrives at a church. Does it help to incessantly urge them to another opinion for which you feel you have solid evidence, or to calmly hear out their own, acknowledging that they have reasons behind their thinking, and may even have a better social understanding than your years around the like-minded have given you?
Or how about politicians: does it help to hire someone within our government that gives long-winded, opinion-filled speeches without time for listening to those he or she may govern? Where is their perspective skill and how do they expect to serve their people well without it?
Or what about our own friends: taking to social media and small groups their misinformed and perspective lacking dogma, jargon, spoon-fed phrases... Having the audacity to speak about perspectives they have never studied or listened to-- perspectives of races they've never been, genders they've never lived as, peoples to which they've never spoken...
And that, my friends, is why I've learned to just take the ice cream in the bathtub with me.
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