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Source : Google.com
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That's all I am. One lone soul out of nearly seven billion currently inhabiting this crazy planet. Whenever I think, speak or write, it is the thought, voice, and opinion of one person, out of seven billion.
In the infinite number of possible lives that could be lived, to form a perception of life and the human condition; to influence a moral code, values, ethics, and an understanding of right from wrong, Mine is but one.
And the great thing is; that if I write about an element of it, then out of seven billion people, it isn't unreasonable to think that anywhere between 50 to 3,000 people might find their way to this site, and relate with whatever I've written, enough to click a little button that says 'like' or leave an encouraging comment.
Now as encouraging as it might be that there are other people who connect to something I've written. It doesn't intrinsically make my opinion any more or less valuable or valid than anyone else's. And although some may agree, it is almost guaranteed that for every one person that relates to my thoughts, those same thoughts will seem foreign and possibly confronting to a hundred more.
Human are such diverse and abstract creatures, it's inevitable that ideas that will seem to make one person feel validated to their very core, will seem offensive and threatening to the very existence of the world view that others have created for themselves.
The first important thing to remember is, that we as humans have always made the mistake of thinking that people agreeing with us means we are right. So no matter how much we claim to like robust discourse, we tend to surround ourselves with people who agree with us and hold the same opinions and values as us.
But while we are living in our world thinking that the popularity of opinions has any bearing on reality; try and remember Galileo Galilei who spent the last 8 years of his life under house arrest for proposing that the sun did not revolve around the earth, and it was in fact the other way round.
The second and last important thing we need remembers is, that no matter how unique, profound, or important we think our opinions and values are; we are just one voice out of seven billion.
In the infinite number of possible lives that could be lived, to form a perception of life and the human condition; to influence a moral code, values, ethics, and an understanding of right from wrong, Mine is but one.
And the great thing is; that if I write about an element of it, then out of seven billion people, it isn't unreasonable to think that anywhere between 50 to 3,000 people might find their way to this site, and relate with whatever I've written, enough to click a little button that says 'like' or leave an encouraging comment.
Now as encouraging as it might be that there are other people who connect to something I've written. It doesn't intrinsically make my opinion any more or less valuable or valid than anyone else's. And although some may agree, it is almost guaranteed that for every one person that relates to my thoughts, those same thoughts will seem foreign and possibly confronting to a hundred more.
Human are such diverse and abstract creatures, it's inevitable that ideas that will seem to make one person feel validated to their very core, will seem offensive and threatening to the very existence of the world view that others have created for themselves.
The first important thing to remember is, that we as humans have always made the mistake of thinking that people agreeing with us means we are right. So no matter how much we claim to like robust discourse, we tend to surround ourselves with people who agree with us and hold the same opinions and values as us.
But while we are living in our world thinking that the popularity of opinions has any bearing on reality; try and remember Galileo Galilei who spent the last 8 years of his life under house arrest for proposing that the sun did not revolve around the earth, and it was in fact the other way round.
The second and last important thing we need remembers is, that no matter how unique, profound, or important we think our opinions and values are; we are just one voice out of seven billion.
