One thing always amazes me, and that is how one and the same cause can bring about so many completely different experiences and subsequent “realities”. The current pandemic is a good example. As I observe my wide circle of friends and family in different countries, colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances, I see that this unprecedented situation has had a wide range of different impacts on them. Some have brought about one of the best periods in their lives: they enjoy not having to commute to work every day, but rather being able to work from home and spend more time with their loved ones; they enjoy the benefits of reduced noise, air pollution, and they don’t miss their previous busy lives. For others, the measures of isolation represent a bad experience: they feel like prisoners, the lack of social life is difficult for them, some miss their colleagues from work, and some even miss the job that allowed them to “switch off” and move from one “world” to another. Even those infected with the virus have had very different experiences. Similar experiences: while some showed only mild symptoms, for others the disease was so severe that it fundamentally changed their lives, and everyone knows someone for whom it was fatal. In terms of our professional lives, the impact of the current situation has also been diverse: some had to work much less or not at all because they were sent on vacation, others had to work more than ever, and some lost their jobs. Those who work in hospitals and nursing homes have gone through extremely intense and difficult situations and have had to deal with many extremely sad moments. And the experiences of others vary greatly. While many have experienced completely unexpected expressions of kindness, others have selfishly panicked and bought everything in sight, and some have completely shocked us by getting into physical altercations in stores over a roll of toilet paper.
Everything is relative and we must admit that everyone’s experience is unique and genuine and true for them… It’s about the ability to deeply understand. That reality has multiple aspects. No one possesses the whole truth.
But isn’t it always like that in life? Don’t we always have completely different experiences despite sharing the same circumstances (the same weather conditions, the same cities, similar jobs, etc.)? We are all subject to the same laws of reality (both physical and state laws), and yet we mostly live in our own realities. Although this is normal, even inevitable, it is a fact that we often forget. Furthermore, it is something that separates us, especially in moments when we need (perhaps more than ever) connection and unity. The fundamental problem we have, most often subconsciously, is the need to think that our perception of reality is the only correct one. If we consider our own experience to be correct, everyone else’s experiences are automatically wrong. As we can see, this easily leads us to fierce battles over who is right, and the more we identify with our “reality” and our “truth,” the harder it will be for us to find common ground. conversation with others. This is exacerbated by another strong desire, which is the need to be right! This is partially because we feel that “being wrong” can seriously damage our image in the eyes of others, as well as our own sense of self-esteem, which we then associate with feelings of humiliation and failure. We don’t want people to question our legitimacy or expertise.
In these special and demanding times, we need to give greater importance to what unites us, and we need to rise above a dualistic mentality that sees things in black and white and always only separates people. Strength and beauty lie in diversity, not in similarity.
We all need to be aware of these tendencies and work towards overcoming them. Everything is relative, but we must acknowledge that everyone’s experience is unique, real, and true to themselves. This is not about who is “right or wrong”. It’s about the ability to deeply understand that reality has multiple aspects. No one possesses the entire truth. Plato, 2500 years ago, pointed out that we live in a world of opinions, not real knowledge. In these unique and challenging times, we need to give greater importance to what unites us and rise above the dualistic mentality that sees things in black and white and always separates people. Strength and beauty lie in diversity, not in similarity.