An Open Perception Should Not Be The Exception - Change Or Be Changed

There is always more than one perception

“There are things known, and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” Aldous Huxley

Change or be changed is focused on looking at our life as it unfolds and seeking opportunities for personal growth. This morning on my way to work a mother was attempting to console a toddler who had dropped something. It reminded me of my 13th birthday when one of my gifts was broken, and, in that moment, I was certain there could never be anything worse than what was happening to me at that very moment. My view was skewed by my limited perception of the world.

When change is forced upon us, we often fail to consider the perception of those doing the change. We quickly jump to why the new reality won’t work, how it is impacting us and our role, and even worse, the potential that some good may come of it. Instead in the past, I would come up with a million reasons why this approach was wrong and how it was never going to work.

I recall a conversation with someone about shifting the way they feel, and their response was I have no control over how I feel. While in some cases that is true, in other situations we can change how we feel. Sometimes by merely considering someone else’s point of view. Trying to understand their perspective.

Facts are spoken about daily, yet most of our references to facts are perceptions. Since we don’t all have the same worldview and what we witness is often influenced by our history facts are best left to math and science. Perception is our interpretation of the situation through our senses. It is not right or wrong. It is a view through the lens of our life’s situations.

When we instead approach change with an open mind and an open heart, we will shift how we feel. Additionally, we will shift how we interact with the new situations and may find what we had been dreading may, in fact open doors and situations we never considered.

Life if going to change. While we can't stop change, we can stop having a closed mind to change. We can be open to someone else’s perception. We might realize something new and insightful about ourselves in the process.

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