especially, love

“Our knowledge of the outside world depends on our modes of perception.”
~ The Origins of Knowledge and Imagination, Jacob Bronowksi

So much of what we know, that which we understand, in essence—our idiosyncratic reality, relies on how we see it.

This is especially true when it comes to understanding people.

Of late, I have experienced the meaning of Bronowski’s tenet repeatedly. It amazes me how merely a slight shift of oneself brings a whole new perspective on what exists outside of the self. Entirely new worlds suddenly appear which were already there—often right before our eyes. It is but for ill-positioning that we could or can not see them.

The same goes for what we comprehend about others. It is utterly amusing, as well as amazing, how we entertain conclusions about the internal machinations of others, their prodding motivations, the invisible enemies that pique them to run or fight, to wince and delight when the wind blows or the cock crows—all little cues that translate into small gestures and big words which in turn clue us into what they are or were thinking.

I suppose it is simply much more convenient and pragmatic to store and employ our cumulative conclusions, the general delusions and presumptions and prejudices about people, than to have to formulate hypotheses about the meaning of human behavior with each new action and individual.

Yet, the truth remains that we may never know the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If anything, we interact with others based on half-truths quite regularly, perspectives passed on by others that were colored to their liking in the process of conveyance.

This is particularly true when you deal with matters that are immaterial—especially, love.

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l.m