Who's Right, and Who's Wrong?

Okay, here's what we're going to do. Take a dive with me on this one.

Pretend that I'm standing between you and someone else, whether that be your best friend, significant other, or family member. You pick. 

You both are sitting down in individual chairs. 

I hold out my hand in the middle of you, my thumb facing the ceiling and my pinky pointed toward the floor.

 (Here's a diagram, just in case I don't make sense)

 I ask the both of you to do the same activity for me.

"Describe what you see."

You're sitting on the left side, and you see this. 

Think about how you would describe this image you see. You might say clear skin, no hair, wrinkles on the palm, etc.

Your partner looks at you with a funny glance. "I don't see that! The skin is definitely NOT clear. There's a bunch of freckles and hair all over. You can see some veins, too."

"Pshh, whatever," you think in your head. "He/she doesn't know what she's talking about. Obviously he's wrong." 

(In this analogy, we are totally assuming that neither person has ever seen the other side of a hand before. Just roll with me here haha :) )

Then when he/she describes his side of the hand, he might add things like bunched knuckles, fingernails visible, etc.

This is what the other person sees:

So why didn't your definitions match up? You were both looking at the same hand. What made the difference? 

Well, I'm sure since you're all so smart, you've figured it out already. YOU EACH HAD DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. One saw the outside of the hand, and one saw the inside. And you described it differently, because you saw it so differently from the other person.

We see this every single day in our personal relationships. We all have our own "prescription" in life; the way we look at things can differ so much that it can cause some tough problems. This is what was discussed in class this week. We need to have respect for one another, because our perspectives are there for a reason!! I've learned this in so many of my relationships over time. I might see setting the table for Thanksgiving as this, but my cousin may see it totally different. But all of our perspectives MATTER. 

It’s GOOD that you both see things differently, it’s a blessing! It doesn’t mean we have to fight and quarrell about who's right or who's wrong. We need to be open and patient, even if we want to be stubborn about what we see. We need to be open to possibly change or step back from OUR perspective and put on some new glasses that will help the picture to come out clearer! :) 

I'll just end with my favorite quote from class. It struck my soul, and I hope it will to yours as well. :)

"Be more worried about what the right thing is to do, rather than who’s more right."