“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Beliefs are absolutely everything. They drive our perceptions.
It doesn’t seem so at first, but our beliefs become so entrenched in our minds that, for us, they become hard, solid facts.
Facts are immutable, like the law of gravity. They just are. Ignore them at your own peril.
We treat our beliefs like that.
We also expect the world to treat our beliefs like that.
For example, our personal take on who the wizard is behind the curtain has driven people to murder. Jesus. Allah. Buddha. Vishnu. All these paths could actually be pointing to the fact that we are dealing with a single deity with a severe personality disorder.
Beliefs become facts. If you don’t believe in “my” god, then you’re at best an idiot (my god is the best one, why would you go anywhere else for your faith based needs?) or at worst, your heathen soul is going to burn in some kind hell. For eternity.
I understand the premise of faith, but no one really knows what happens when you go to that next place - or if there is even a next place. You have faith that you’re right, but you don’t know. Certainly not enough to insists that others are wrong.
Our perceptions of situations and people drive our reactions. How many of us take the time to consider whether or not what we think is actually correct? How often in life do we take the time to inventory our deeply rooted feelings? Examine where they came from and if they still make sense for us.
We choose our reactions to any given circumstance. Much more than we dare to realize; however, most of us live by default: living under the premise that our perception is the undisputed truth.
That don’t work for everything.
Sometimes we’ve got to take a step back. Look at it from different angles.
Fashion is perception. Entitlement is perception. Assumptions are perception. Etiquette is perception. Other people and their lives are perception. Shoulds are perception.
Perception isn’t fact.
Perception isn’t necessarily right.
We can always make another choice.
