Thursday, December 16, 2010

How big is our world?


I wondered early on if other people saw the world as I did, and if so, was their experience the same? I had a feeling that each of us carried around an internal construction of "the world" based on our own point of view in a theatrical sense, i.e., we were the main character in our play and all the people and events in it were filtered through our perceptions and our interpretations of our perceptions. That was it...for each of us...individually. So how could our experience be the same?

But even if our experience is unique to our point of view, it is clear that we can and do learn from each other. I find the thought that our world is as big as our own perception of it a hopeful one. It seems that we can expand our capacities to the extent we are willing to explore their limits. The examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and the Dalai Lama give me an indication of how much we can grow in our capacity to help others, and develop inner qualities of generosity, compassion, patience, and tolerance.