adminYou are at the center of your universe. Until you die, you will always see the world through your eyes, from your point of view. That’s both a beautiful thing and a dangerous thing.
We (you, me, and every living person) see things through a unique pair of eyes. The information that is processed through your eyes is also unique for every creature alive. That information is then processed in a way that helps us, mostly, to survive. For survival, it’s crucial that you are the center of your universe in instinctive a reaction to stay alive. For example, when you have to stay away from the hungry paws of striped wild forest cats that would love to have you as their lunch. Observation and image processing helped us to make decisions so we could survive.
Nowadays, the homo sapiens have evolved into a divine creature that is searching for the meaning in life and values self-actualization as the highest achievement in Maslow’s pyramid. In modern times, being at the center of your universe mostly means that our brains are developed enough to overthink situations.
Our brains are so developed, but imminent danger has disappeared. We don’t have to run away or hide from creatures that would kill us. Now, we can use our eyes and brains to form ideas. Sometimes we keep on forming ideas on top of ideas that eventually get us nowhere, because there is no hard deadline between life and death.
The dangerous thing about being the center of your own universe is that it can easily blindfold you to understanding other people’s perspectives. Just as you see things your way, your neighbor sees things in his own way. What’s true for you might not be his truth. What works for you might not work for someone else. It’s easy to start believing that the way you see things is the only truth.
However, with everything in life, there are always multiple sides to a story. You might not agree with someone else’s ideas. You might disagree with everyone. But it’s crucial to at least acknowledge the fact that people carry different opinions than yours.
Every person will always see and act in their own best interest. Even the people who are selfless will act in a certain way that will inflate their sense of self-worth. Most people will even think that they act in others’ best interests. You can be almost certain that they’re not.
The big takeaway is that when you realize and are open to the fact that people will handle things from their own perspective, it can guide you to follow your own course.
[Note to self: this is part of “Being Open” and should be later rewritten/revisited]