A new perspective. Looking at a bridge from underneath reveals a different kind of beauty, structure and form unveiled by a different angle. Stepping outside of our comfort zone, stepping outside the assumed boxes that make for the orderly administration of our lives and of society, may be the key to finding much needed solutions. Einstein expressed this with the following statement, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Maybe this is what we need to do to find our common humanity. We need to work at seeing the world from a different angle, attempt to see a situation from another's perspective and sooner or later our perception starts to change and eventually we gain new insight. I talk about 'stepping outside the box' in CH 7 of To Kill A Coyote (p 181-4). |
This ability to step outside oneself - to detach and examine one's thought processes and feelings from a more objective, nonjudgmental viewpoint - may be exactly what is needed to solve the current problems facing our society. . . . This type of questioning can bring discovery of new ways and new processes that can address the issues within an existing system better. Perhaps the best way to solve the problems of our society is to empower every individual to develop the ability to move closer to self-actualization."
So it may be that the more we challenge ourselves to move beyond our comfort zone, the better we will understand ourselves and others. Ideally, this better understanding stemming from stepping outside of our comfort zone and seeking to see from a new or different perspective, will reveal our common humanity, connecting us instead of allowing our differences to divide us.
Please share your thoughts on ways to find our common humanity, your experiences of stepping outside of the box, and ways to connect when there is so much in our world that plays upon fears and desires and leads to division instead of unity.
Namaste.