It would seem there is a tremendous cognitive bias regarding "others" aka "your average Joe Blow / the man on the street" and the assumption of their mindfulness and depth - specifically, that they lack any of it.
When polling for what people think the most commonly-prayed-for event is, the most frequent claim seems to be that obviously the number one thing is "more money", or "wealth" or any other synonym, and that the people who do this are pitiful, narrow-minded materialists who would be alright if they could just open up a little more, you know?
Personally, I find myself leaning towards the idea of a perceptual skew.
The less familiar we are with a person, the more superficial a conversation with them is likely to be. Thus, our experiences with strangers are almost entirely surface interactions - exchanges of mere utility and little else. After all, how often do you mention a life-altering experience to the teenager behind the checkout counter? We keep our shields raised around strangers, and since they do the same, all we ever experience of each other is the superficial protocol of strictly necessary information exchange.
...and this shallowness which is seen becomes all that we know of "others", and all that we know becomes Truth.
What's your take? Do you think this is indicative of a deep-seated cynicism regarding humanity, leading us all to the conclusion that we as a species have little hope for our own future? Is it just our simple need to feel superior to one another, rising to the forefront in yet another form? Or do you have another explanation for why the default assumption regarding an anonymous other lacks the qualities we all secretly treasure?
When polling for what people think the most commonly-prayed-for event is, the most frequent claim seems to be that obviously the number one thing is "more money", or "wealth" or any other synonym, and that the people who do this are pitiful, narrow-minded materialists who would be alright if they could just open up a little more, you know?
Personally, I find myself leaning towards the idea of a perceptual skew.
The less familiar we are with a person, the more superficial a conversation with them is likely to be. Thus, our experiences with strangers are almost entirely surface interactions - exchanges of mere utility and little else. After all, how often do you mention a life-altering experience to the teenager behind the checkout counter? We keep our shields raised around strangers, and since they do the same, all we ever experience of each other is the superficial protocol of strictly necessary information exchange.
...and this shallowness which is seen becomes all that we know of "others", and all that we know becomes Truth.
What's your take? Do you think this is indicative of a deep-seated cynicism regarding humanity, leading us all to the conclusion that we as a species have little hope for our own future? Is it just our simple need to feel superior to one another, rising to the forefront in yet another form? Or do you have another explanation for why the default assumption regarding an anonymous other lacks the qualities we all secretly treasure?
When your able to grasp a real sense of oneness of all, you begin to see yourself in everyone and everything.. becoming very integral and it gets harder to look down or reject the actions of others because you see all of it as you.
)