The Power of Understanding
Our world is filled with a wonderful variety of opinions, views, cultural norms, beliefs, and experiences. Which add vivid color to the tapestry that make up our communities. The fact that we value different things, and that we have different experiences is a wonderful thing that is worth celebrating!
Consider how these differences add a counterbalance to our own weaknesses. Yes! We have weaknesses! We like to think that we are strong, and we probably are, in most regards, but all of us have areas of serious default, which can cause us to topple.
A counterbalance offers us another perspective. Another source of wisdom to draw on. Another set of eyes who can view our actions and our values and offer us insights that we might not otherwise have had access to.
Even in those cases where we are free from fault, understanding another person’s perspective is a wonderful miracle. Which adds richness to our lives. Learning about the deeply held beliefs and values of others can bring us great joy.
The goal isn’t to convert to their values. It is to understand them.
Understanding another person’s values validates the other person. It shows them that you are gracious enough to take the time to learn about the things that are important to them, and that you respect them as an intelligent and contributing member of society.
It is very easy to dismiss another person as an idiot. To say to ourselves that this other person must be a fool, because they believe in these strange and different practices. Yet, who is it that is really the fool? When we miss an opportunity to learn from the timeless wisdom of another culture, and when we skip the opportunity to connect with another human being, we cheat ourselves out of the experiences that life was made for.
Moreover we miss some of the greatest opportunities for our own personal growth and advancement.
It All Begins With Understanding
Making an effort to learn about another person and to really understand where they are coming from will open your eyes to the goodness, intelligence, and wisdom of that person. Everyone has something to teach us. True, some have more to teach than others, but even the poorest vagabond on the side of the road knows more about something than you do. Even the child, who can barely walk knows something you don’t. The breadth of human knowledge is spread out across all of us. We all hold a piece of it. We are all the world’s premier expert in something.
When you learn the secrets of another individual’s expertise, you become greater and so do they. You grow because you now know something that you didn’t know before. They grow because you have validated them as a person. You have looked in their eyes, and expressed gratitude for their willingness to share their wisdom with you.
You may not agree with their point of view. You may never agree with their point of view. However, agreeing is not the point. Validating them through understanding is the point. Realizing that their point of view has roots in something concrete is the point. When you begin to understand others, you begin to respect them. You begin to feel gratitude towards them. You begin to see them as human.
It is this new found understanding that paves the way for building relationships of trust. As well as for building communities that function well.
A Wise Person Strives To Understand Everyone
A great person looks at everyone they pass and wonders what secrets to the Universe are locked up in that mind. What new treasures of knowledge they could gain, if they struck up a conversation with that person. Moreover they recognize that while not everyone is articulate or even very intelligent, that with some effort a truth can be gleaned from their experiences and insights.
A wise person understands that they hold only a very small percentage of the world’s knowledge in their own mind. That true greatness means being humble enough to reach out to others so that solutions to problems can be found.
Again, it is not about converting to the other person’s viewpoint. It is simply about understanding their viewpoint, so that you can work with them in a meaningful way.
