Cracks in Humanness

Perspective Matters

Guest Prompt Week 1, Day 1: “At the level of humanness, we see right and wrong as guide markers. At what point or level do we no longer see right and wrong?”

Typically, when we hear the word right, we equate it with moral goodness and when we hear the word wrong, we equate it with something morally bad. We use these guidelines as our moral compass to steer us through our lives. They can manifest in different ways depending on the situations we are faced with. However, is right or wrong really that black and white or can there be gray areas?

In order to answer Joseph Lieungh thought-provoking question, I believe I need to answer another which is, what is right and what is wrong? I believe this is a loaded question and it is all based on our perspectives. It all depends on the paths that we have traveled in life. In the age of information, most of us can find an argument to support whether we believe something is right or wrong.

Therefore, as flawed human beings we can develop or perhaps get hijacked by twisted point of views. Coupled with our inflated egos, many of us have surely created rigid thoughts which have blurred our visions to see beyond our own perspectives.

Perhaps this might be viewed as an unpopular opinion, but I believe that we have become too fixated on who is right and who is wrong when it comes to our opinions. I believe if we could focus more on our commonalities, we would be able to repair some of the cracks that we have created in our humanness. These cracks have clouded our judgements and have caused us to separate ourselves into more pockets.

There is a saying by Les Brown that goes “you can’t see the picture when you are in the frame.” Though our views might be wrong, if we have convinced ourselves and believe them to be right, and we never step outside of that space, then in our minds, we are right and there is not much anyone can do to convince us otherwise.

It will therefore take an enormous shift in paradigm to change our point of view, and we all know that is no easy feat when dealing with human beings and our opinions. Many of us have biases in one way or another that cause us to unequivocally stick to what we believe in.

Personally, I believe if we don’t agree on a subject, it doesn’t mean that my point of view is incorrect, it just means that at my level of consciousness that is how I perceive it to be. If at some point, I discover or become aware of a new perspective, then I am open to hearing the new point of view. However, I can’t expect that same level of openness from others.

I am a student of life, and my thoughts and opinions are not rigid to the point where I can’t bend or shift them.

In this age of information and technology where we are slowly losing our human connectedness, this rift is creating more cracks in our humanness that have continued to breakdown. We have lost so much respect for each other and we have in many cases forgotten what it means to be human. To be kind, loving, caring, and compassionate towards other human beings, regardless if we differ in thoughts and opinions.

The more we allow our various perspectives to negatively govern how we interact with each other, the further separated we will become. My hope is that humanity can come to a point where we focus more on filling in and repairing the gaps in the cracks that we have created. I believe this is a way to return to the beauty of what it means to be human.

Joseph Lieungh, thank you for this fascinating question. At first, I planned on approaching it from the point of view of good versus evil, but I decided to take a completely different route. Does it mean that I am wrong or right in my approach, absolutely not, I merely presented my perspective.

This was written in response to Joseph Lieungh’s Monday Guest Prompt:

Thank you all for reading. And thank you Diana C. for creating the space so that we all can revisit stages in our lives, tell our stories, grow, and heal. KTHT has been a rollercoaster, one that I don’t mind riding.