Understanding is much deeper than knowledge. There are many people who know us. But very few who understand us.
Understanding is much deeper than knowledge. There are many people who know us. But very few who understand us.
Knowing something to be true is a far cry from understanding why it is so. We are able to discern various qualities about other people and therefore we know them to be a certain personality type or to have certain characteristics that are readily identifiable. But in most cases, we are hard-pressed to understand how or why they are the way that they are.
There are so many variables that contribute to the qualities of a human being. Some are biological, ancestral, behavioral, societal and so much more. In our attempt to have meaningful relationships with other human beings we are often privileged to dive beneath the surface veneer in order that we might learn more about how and why a specific person is behaving or how their belief system was formulated.
The learning about how and why a character behaves the way that they do, formulates the greatest works of fiction, film, television and theater. We, as an audience, thrive on the revelation, layer by layer, of how and why a protagonist or an antagonist came to be who they are in this moment of conflict with one another.
When we are quick to judge another person, we must always remember that we are not privy to the circumstances that gave them cause or reason to act in the way that they are acting at this moment in time. We might be arrogant enough to presuppose that we fully understand them, but in most cases that is a complete illusion. In most cases, we do not have the first clue as to how and why they are the way that they are.
I would venture to guess that in most circumstances, were we to write down our supposition and then have a meaningful conversation with the other party, we would be lucky if we were able to get as much as 50% accuracy in our suppositions.
In many cases, people are not even aware on a conscious level how and why they are thinking, feeling and behaving the way that they do. It is just who they are. So they do not take the time to extrapolate how or why they choose to act the way they do or choose to do the things that they are doing.
In the recognition that most people do not really understand why we do the things that we do, perhaps we are most wise in transposing that recognition on to our view of others so that we are more tolerant about the things that we do not understand. Happy Monday!
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