Perception and Acceptance

Something occurred to me recently while having a heated discussion about different belief systems with a group of friends, that we are all just trying to make sense of our experience of life by finding a belief structure that fits for us. There isn’t a right of wrong belief – it is just the belief system that we chose to try and makes sense of our reality. 

The more we learn to accept that there isn’t one ultimate truth, there are many truths and each person has their own set of belief’s according to their life experience – the less angry we would feel towards each other and the more understanding we are towards our own beliefs and the beliefs of others. We would stop trying to convince other people that our beliefs were right and theirs wrong and accept that the only real difference is in the life experiences we have had.

I believe we are constantly seeking to find a framework that makes sense of our experience’s – for some that is literature, some it is politics, some that is religion/spirituality and for others it is science etc. Whatever it is you chose to believe is your truth. No one can take that away and neither should you try and change others. The only person you can and should want to change is yourself - into the best and happiest version of who you can be. 

Next time you find yourself feeling challenged around beliefs, either getting triggered by someone else’s or someone questions you about your own, pause for a moment to think about what kind of life experiences may have led to those beliefs. Ask questions to yourself or others about why you believe it to be true, rather than saying it is wrong or right. Switching the fear of the unknown into curiosity of the differences can be an amazing tool to better connect with and understand others.