“If only we had brought our poinsettia with us it would have been perfect.” stated my mom soon after we had arrived in Nye, MT; the destination of our 2-day family expedition. I thought quite the opposite, knowing that the plant would have ridden on my lap for the past 48 hours. Pretty easy to see that my mom and I viewed this situation quite differently. We had conflicting perspectives you might say.
We are limited by our perspective. I am. You are. We possess a finite ability to understand and see people and events from a single vantage point. This inherently limits us. There are over six billion people living on the earth today, each with their own perspective to view the world with. Because of this, things like knowledge and communication can be confusing and deceptive . How should we use it? Interpret it? Teach it? Depends on your perspective right? Or does it? This uniqueness is not a bad thing, as we learn to collaborate, consolidate, and understand each other, we can benefit from it.
What does it mean to myself, and to you, right now?
The film “United States of Leeland” explores perspectives, how ours are viewed by others, and how they can drive our actions. In the film a contemplative and introspective main character is perplexed by perspectives, his especially, and how they don’t seem to mix with those around him. Through the process of exploring the philosophies that come with his unique perspective, he commits a rather grievous act. This draws attention to him, and through this we the viewers explore the implication of perspective. Try this, find an object to look at, cover one eye, alternate blinking each individual eye and experience the contrast of perspective that comes from such a simple act.
If the simple act of blinking an eye can create a drastically different view of something imagine the differences caused by human experience, environmental factors, personality differences, etc. and etc. I like to think of this uniqueness and diversity as a very awesome thing, something that defies my abilities of comprehension. That is a good thing.
The more you and I can appreciate this diversity of perspectives, the more understanding and peace we will have for and with the people around us. So think about your friend’s perspective, your parent’s, the perspective of the anchor on the evening news, and then think about yours.
Oh, and watch the “United States of Leeland” too.