Hi Friends,
A few months ago, I wrote a post about the subjectivity of reality.
I find this a fascinating topic, particularly, because we seem to be surrounded by loud mouths barking what is "right" and how things should be done.
As a society, we are polarized, and that polarization is constructed as a battle of right and wrong, good and evil, but really it's just the haves (trying to maintain their hold) and have nots.
I don't want this to be read as a political post. That is not my intention, because I believe this battle of subjectivities exists across every aspect of the human existence.
As a species, we have been so successful on this planet, because we have an innate belief that our survival depends upon everyone agreeing with us.
It's one of the traits that makes us human: oppressive subjectivity masquerading as universal objectivity.
I got to this place in my thoughts today through the appearance of a couple of articles this week about the subjectivity and flexibility of memories.
One suggests your brain is lying to you about the Good Old Days being better than the present. We often long for (as I have done myself recently) those days of simpler times, forgetting, of course, the stresses that inevitably existed.
I mean, who really wants to go back to high school?
The human brain is amazing at gliding over past pain. We have the ability to forget injuries so we can heal. Imagine if you remembered your own birth?
I remember reading about a Zen master who presented a koan stating: "The past is an illusion." I have often found solace in this thought. It has given me strength to reframe my personal history as a means of moving forward.
The funny thing is that I actually haven't been able to find the reference—Did my brain make that up? Is this message from my past an invention of my mind? Fitting, I might say.
I came upon another item this week that is really fun, an infographic about childhood thoughts of adulthood. When I was a kid, I thought I was going to be retired at 30 after a brief, but financially abundant, career.
That didn't happen.
45 years later, I'm rushing to finish this post before I'm missed at work by a boss who's almost 20 years younger than me (even though he’s a good guy).
My wife recently showed me a meme that said something like "quicksand seemed a lot more of a problem when we were kids." Back in the 70s on TV, it seemed everyone was getting stuck in jungle quicksand (thank goodness for those vines).
Our memory is kind of like that. In the present, you're safe under a palm tree, having pulled yourself out of the muck.
I am an enthusiastic supporter of subjectivity. It's how I see the world.
I believe every interaction with another human is an exercise in balancing each other's perception of reality.
It gets frustrating when subjectivity is being sold as objectivity, and then it becomes policy that everyone has to live by, even though it's not their reality.
Enjoy your memories—they are absolutely yours and yours alone. Give people the respect to have theirs and enjoy each other's stories.
Happy reading, happy writing, and happy story telling (yourself).
David