It seems so logical. It makes so much sense. It's so obviously clear. But if that's the case, why is there disagreement? Why does someone think it's wrong? Why does someone else have a different answer, a different reason or not even understand what it is that you're talking about? Something I've been realizing more and more lately is that people's minds work differently and we think in different ways. This is something that's incredibly difficult to overcome though, at least in my opinion, because it can leave us at somewhat of a stalemate with another person. We hit a wall that can't really be overcome because we simply cannot get ourselves to think in the same way the other person does, so we can't move forward. We see the results of this all the time in our personal lives, in our political system, in our workplaces, and really wherever we go.
Now, I realize I'm not alone in having discovered this. The best response we can often come up with is compromise. Without that, we're left either continuously running into the wall or we give up and abandon the whole situation. But what if it's something that can't be compromised? What if it's a fact that can't change because it simply is what it is? If they don't want to see the truth in front of them, you're pretty much left helpless. But what if that's not ok? What if you care too much for that to be acceptable? You're still stuck unable to overcome it, at least on your own, because you're simply not thinking the same way they are. I think this is one of the harshest realities I keep having to face.
It's amazing how different people are in terms of how they act, what they prioritize, and how they choose to spend their time. There are some things that I believe to be so basic that others don't even seem to care about. Living in an apartment full of other guys, this becomes readily apparent. Even among roommates, trying to get the other to understand your thought process is always a challenge. Something you may see as ignoring a responsibility, they may not even realize is an issue
I think the hardest thing is that we have to keep going regardless of whether others see what we do or not. In a way it's almost like we have to ignore it and move on. But it still sits there like an elephant in the room, being unmovable and something all parties involved know is there. Then again, this is what creates the excitement, innovation, and overall world we have today. Without people thinking differently, we wouldn't have a need for all of the majors there are in college, for example. We wouldn't have the variety of cultures, technologies, and societies that we do. The world we live in is built on the fact that different people act and think in different ways.
Politics is a huge area of conflict for this reason. We each have our opinions, things we support, things we're against, and some kind of ideology we follow. We choose who we want to represent us based on these things and when someone else isn't supporting or against the same things that we are, problems arise. How is it they don't see how big of an issue environmental protection is, for example. Don't they see how beneficial it would be to cut certain areas and give more funding towards others? Are they aiming for the long term or just the here and now? What are they thinking?
Another classic area for this is the different thought processes between men and women. A guy make think something is funny or looks great while the lady next to him thinks the same thing is horrible. A woman may think that spending the day in the mall is great while a man can't wait to find the exit. None of this is meant to label guys and girls under the normal stereotypes though, because a guy could enjoy being in a mall while a girl thinks it's a bore just the same. So even within that, our thoughts about a norm or the way one gender thinks versus the other could be totally flipped at any given moment. Looking at a successful marriage is probably the best place to see this occurring and I would venture to say that most successful marriages are successful because the man and woman realize that they do think differently but they're willing to work together to overcome it and live with it.
The biggest area of contention that I keep facing with this though is with religion. I am a Christian, but the only thing I know for certain is the very core meaning that God exists, that Christ existed and came to die and save us from our sins. Beyond that everyone seems to have their own opinion and thoughts regarding beliefs, and I'm talking about within Christianity itself. Some seem to think that things such as a snow storm happening or a the winning of a sporting event or the loss of a job are because God made it happen. To me, I can see that but more in the sense of God sustains existence which allows cold fronts to occur and cause snow storms, people to create game plans and train in order to win games, and the economy is poor which has led to cuts needing to be made and executives deciding that's the best way to do it as a part of their business strategy. But we're both talking about the same God and you can't have and not have direct intervention at the same time, so how is that possible? Things get even wilder if you branch outside of Christianity and see that there are so many people believing so many different things, or even lacking beliefs. The problem is that we can't all be right, it's just not possible. God either exists or He doesn't. Christ either came and died to save us from our sins or the whole thing is utter nonsense. Christ is either the one way or He's not. You can't have it both ways, there is no middle ground here and yet some people think there is. We keep going through our daily lives with people all around us thinking totally different things and having totally different beliefs, knowing that someone has to be wrong. But the real question is, who? And if we're right when the others are wrong, how is that not our top pursuit, especially when it comes to this big of an issue?
The thing is, we live our lives knowing that others think and act differently than us, but we don't really acknowledge it. There's a wall staring us in the face in so many situations but we can't overcome it, so we try to go around it. It ultimately leads to this point of acceptance, realizing that we're all different people that think in different ways. You can have all the facts and truth you want but if someone isn't willing to accept it, what is it worth? Our ways of thinking are always being challenged and changed. For me it's wild to think that my thoughts right now regarding my future will be totally different when I actually get wherever I'm going. Right now they seem so real and they seem to matter, yet in a short time they will seem like nonsense. Situations I was in just a short time ago I could have never thought about the possibility of leading to where they have. Most of the time this happens because someone else wasn't thinking the same way you were and this had an impact on you. So how do we reconcile this? How do we live our lives having something we know to be true when so many others don't think so? I guess overall it's a part of life, something that will never change. But that doesn't do much in terms of settling the conflict, we just have to not think about it, accept it, or drive ourselves nuts trying to resolve it. For now, I leave you with a challenge. When you face someone who thinks, says, or does something that you know isn't right, just remember that they may not be wrong, they're just thinking differently.
