My Perspective

We all know that we all 'perceive' things differently. I see things in a different way than anyone else, and same goes for you. No one else feels the exact same way about anything. Even if you love something so much that you can't live without it, there are an infinite amount of ways that love can be expressed. It's not repeated. It is 100% unique, every time.

But that's not really what I'm talking about.

So I have a friend that is color blind. I have more than one friend that is color blind. In fact, over 10% of all males can't see colors. Females, a lot less. We asked how can he tell which street light is which when he's driving. He knows that the white looking light, is actually the green one. So to him, white and green are pretty much the same color. That means that he has no idea what green is. His mind cannot comprehend it. There is nothing in his existence that can ever prove to him what the color green looks like. The color green will never survive in his world. And that color is just one of many.

So that got me thinking. (hence the post). What if nobody sees anything the same way? Run with me for a while. And now you think about that. What if nobody sees anything the same way? If my color blind friend can't see the difference between green and white, then maybe there's more than just colors, and more than just for color blind folk. He struggles with elements of the rainbow, but what if I have trouble with seeing cars. or people. or faces. or hair styles. or animals. or environments. or a-ny-thing. So it's not just a few things here or there. Not just the weight of someone's personality overshadowing their exterior. Not just outside influences or preconceived notions or the way we were raised, but what if our eyes saw people in a different focus than anyone else, if our ears heard music at a different tone, if we felt textures with different hands.

There's some proof to back either side of this argument, but I don't really care to find the science behind it. So if you went into every situation believing that the person you are talking to does not see the same thing in the same way, you might be a little more cautious.

I'm sorry, this idea is kind of blowing my mind and I'm struggling to find my thoughts.

If no one sees things like you, then opinions would become rather trivial. How can you argue that julia roberts is better looking than natalie portman in Closer if we are looking at different people? Maybe when I see natalie portman, I see intriguing perfection, while you see awkward homelyness. I know we all have different opinions on the same things, which would imply we 'see things differently,' but I'm trying really hard to distinguish between having different opinions, and physically seeing different things. My friend doesn't think green is an ugly color to wear because he doesn't think it accents his eyes, he thinks it's an ugly color because it looks bland and emotionless.

So maybe we shouldn't put so much stock into what we see and hear and feel and taste. We all have different physical bodies. Our senses all differ. None of us know by how much. But what you can trust is how people treat you. If you get to the point where trust is established, whether through convesation or physical comfort, then put your confidence in that. Use that to fall asleep to. To come out of hiding for. To live for.

What if nobody sees anything the same way? What does that say about our world?