December 4, 2006
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It has been a really long time since I have lived in a place with “microclimates.” Right after Thanksgiving it started snowing here– and as some of you might have seen on TV, there was a veritable blizzard around the Puget Sound and lower BC area. It was also cold (at least for these parts of the world) with temps dropping to the low teens. All in all, about two inches of snow fell here, and I felt somewhat mystified by the Seattle TV reporters stating that Port Townsend had eight inches of snow.
Until, that is… I decided it was no big deal, and I’d go to Safeway for some groceries.
Indeed, on the other side of town (which is barely two miles, over a hill), it was a winter wonderland. Even today, as I went to the grocery, there was still snow in hollows and shady places… there has been none here for six days.
I tend to end up pondering odds and ends, as I drive around. The very different ways “all that snow” fell in the same small town, within a couple of miles, made me think about the different ways we perceive things, and all the miscommunication and conflict that arises, as a result.
Simplistically speaking, is 72 degrees “hot,” or “cold?” And who decides? And what is the “right” answer?
These sorts of questions rear their ugly heads when we get to issues of deciding whether something is “good,” or “bad.” The conflict points tend to come about when someone has an “investment” in a certain perception, and another person challenges that perception. Often it happens in situations that are a debate over some intangible, like whether or not the outcome of a situation is “good.” But what’s really and honestly “good” for one person may fall well short of expectations for the next person… and an argument erupts.
It has always fascinated me how two people can have the exact same experience (positive or negative), at the same time… and even in the pursuit of a “common interest,” yet one sees the outcome as “excellent,” while the other sees it as “shitty.” Could be something as simple as two people with the same income and the same car getting the same kind of fender-bender fixed… yet one thinks $500 is “a good deal” while the other thinks the same deal is “outrageous.”
I think about this stuff, and I am reminded that it’s a small miracle that we even get along with each other… and that, of course, is my perception… where someone else would probably insist that getting along is easier than first grade math.
Comments (27)
That’s some good stuff to ponder over. =)
our brains are all different. we need to synchronize them. or something.
72F would be fine by me. Here in my area it snowed, but just 35 miles away where my sister is going to college not a flake fell from the sky.
It all boils down to which cloud you’re under. (ponder that for a second …)
We’ve been sitting on the deck and have watched it rain on the lake, while not a drop falls in the yard or on our house. Or it will snow on one side of the road and not on the other.
It all boils down to which cloud you’re under.
Yes, I know what you mean. I try not to see things as good or bad, just for that reason…. although I may say to someone on the blog that something is good, because that is how they seem to be perceiving it. In that case, it IS good for them. I see this good/bad conflict in the smallest to the largest challenges we may face. What’s bad in the moment can be good overall. And on and on and on.
I hope you perceive a ‘good’ day, Peter. : )
Everyone perceives “reality” different, and none of us live in the same reality. The variable set of rules and regulations for the world in which I walk differes greatly from the one others near me do.
I can fully accept a higher being, who helps and loves.
My partner accepts ultimate death, with no higher power.
Even this set of rule variances alone creates a slew of weird enigmas between the two of us. I say miracle, he says happenstance. I say love, he says luck. I believe little supernatural things can happen, him, if you cant see it black or white there is no gray.
Two lovers can be in the same relationship. One has a sad view on love, so to that person, just having someone is a good thing, and they don’t understand when the other person is unhappy because the first person “does nothing” with the relationship. One is already happy, the other seeks something more intimate, more loving..more close.
Each of us Truely lives in our own little world, and “Reality” for realities sake doesn’t exist. A set of rules and regulations accepted by a general mass conciousness…however…
No way is getting along easier than first grade math! I am surprised at how we manage to do it sometimes too.
Conversation with a coworker. He said he’s quiet, doesnt open up, get friendly til he knows someone better. I said I get friendly right away, and dont clam up til you piss me off. Weird, huh?
Expectations of how things are “supposed to be” always get me knotted up! How lovely, however, that you found that winter wonderland over the hill…life is kinda like that, the surprises around the next bend can be intriguing, and sometimes appalling! Hope your week is going okay…I must say, sometimes I miss a good snowfall here in Texas.
lol. did you pick 72F on purpose? It is considered the “perfect” temperature. Because anything above that temp causes the human body to perspire.
Someone once said that God causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust. That has always fascinated me. And, like you say- how that is experienced is such a matter of individual perspective. . .
Each individual has different strengths and weaknesses. for some people-persons, getting along really is as simple as first grade math, and for others who have to overcome fear and security concerns to do the same- it is hard. Some people get a warm buzz out of socializing, which encourages and rewards them for doing it- while others get absolutely nothing, no warm feelings and they may infact have to be cold and stern with themselves to force themselves to even do it. Nice post.
Neat. Perspectives are tricky, as seems to be my lesson of the year. (or…decade…which remains to be seen…). There are as many perspectives as people in the world (duh!) and so I say, let ‘em have theirs, I’ll choose mine, thanks! I enjoy picking people’s brains for theirs though. Fascinating stuff. I could go off about how we coincidentally become “friends” with people with similar perspectives , and “lovers” with even more so similar perspectives, and how it’s reassuring to be around people who share a like view of the world and life, because then we feel validated etc. But that might spur a whole tangent on the human condition and frankly, i’m winded already!
Always enjoy your posts.
yes… like in Annie Hall, when sex 3X/wk is a lot for her, and not enough for him! hmmm… I wouldn’t be surprised if most wars are the result of a great deal of misperceptions and false beliefs… Love and Light, Enna
WHEEE!!! It’s nice to see you doing ok! Me miss you! ^_^ *huggles*
Good to hear from you! We’re gettin gyour ‘used’ weather, that’s pretty funny! Take care.
I’ll disagree with you only on the scale of the miracle.
It’s not “small” – it’s colossal. And it happens billions of times a day.
I believe God calls it “Grace”.
)
Perspective eh? Being closer to Canada are you picking up the “eh” yet?? 70 is warm to us way up here…. and yes perspective makes such a difference per person… ’til the next
Everybody has a different opinion, a different perspective. The question is, how many care about anyone elses? How many people have their own thoughts and don’t want to hear anything else? How many think that everything is black and white, so if you’re not with them, you’re against them? We all need more flexibility in our thinking, even those that believe themselves to be so already.
Thank Gawd some of us do get along – there are more than enough that don’t, and the wars around the world are a testiment to all that.
I hope, with all that storming and chill all around, that you got your walk on the beach that you craved
My daughter got her fill of snowballs, snowmen and snow angels. It was, for a few days, reminiscent of the place of my birth, so I guess I got what I needed too. Now I’m glad to be driving on wet roads again.
And 72? I prefer 80. That’s my perfection
Soon, 72* will be cool to all of us due to global warming…
I love all four seasons, in all of their glory. Snow, sleet, rain, heat… hey! I made a rhyme!
I should have you hook up with Arhata & Cain.
I’ll send you an email.
What you perceive and what you experience, is always neutral in itself. It’s how you interpret those things that decides their value. Like I always say, when my mind is at ease, I am able to enjoy a simple glass of water more deeply, than a restless person can ever enjoy a glass of the most exquisite wine…
I used to think those things…I mean, about how people perceive things…until I realized the only person’s perception that really matters in my life is mine. I just totally respect other people’s rights to perceive anyway s/he chooses…even if it’s “wrong.” hehehe
I love you…Get Back In Here! GFW
Just dropin’ by with some Xanga love for ya! Wishing you a blessed Holiday Season!
~Namaste~
)0(
CrimsonWings (A Goddess in the making!)…A continuous work in progress!
Great blog ! You have some very interesting thought provoking entries.
Keep up the excellent work!
~MK~
Hi Peter…..was just thinking of you! *hugs*
Merry Christmas Peter! I hope the holiday is a happy one for you. hugs & love, Colleen
I like your side bar describing yourself. I need a business coach, I sold more books than ever in my bookshop last year but I made a loss!!!
I live on a small island in the West Indies, I’m typing this from my office which is right out in the rainforest under the branches of a coconut tree with a breadfruit tree right next to it. I moved here in July from 1/4 mile away and the climate is completely different. We don’t get fog (low clouds) here, nor the fierce trade winds, but its wetter. Right now its about 74 degrees and I have a blanket round my shoulders because I’m cold. Everything is relative.
Relative too is how we have the same experience but label it differently. Just after I bought my (old) truck, some rasta put a stone through the back window and shattered it. It cost me $463 which I thought was a good deal because it only took an hour and they cleaned the vehicle inside and out. My friend thought it was terrible because she always gets her car serviced in backstreet garages that charge very little, take a week and she forgets she has had to pay for the hire of a car. So its your previous experiences in a similar line that influence your present judgement.
Happy New Year!
Everything’s relative. You may not post or comment very often, but that all depends on whom you’re compared to.