LIFE* A Different Point Of View: pt.2/3

LIFE* A Different Point Of View: pt.2/3

Life As A Puzzle (differences in perspective):

In life it is easy to dismiss thoughts and ideas of other people that don't quite fit your understanding. It is important to remember however, that we will never be able to grasp life's 'big picture' by refusing to try and understand the perspective of others. Consider this metaphor:

A teacher comes to class one day and hands each of his students a piece to a puzzle. The students then take turns going around the class each saying what their idea of the complete puzzle is based off their individual puzzle piece. Some of the students are positive they know what the big picture is. Some students have a pretty good ideas as to what the completed puzzle will look like. Then some students inevitably blurt out “I don't knows” or answers that other students deem 'stupid', 'wrong', 'crazy'. Individually none of the students can be 100% sure what the 'big picture' is based off their own perspective.

Soon the students are instructed to come together and assemble the puzzle. As the pieces are placed, one by one, the 'big picture' becomes increasingly clear. The teacher then tells the class that each student with an answer that was considered 'wrong', 'stupid', or 'crazy' must remove their piece from the puzzle. The 'big picture' very quickly becomes unrecognizable as useful pieces(perspectives) are removed.

This metaphor represents life. The removal of important pieces of the 'big picture' is what happens when we regard others points of view as 'wrong' or 'stupid'. If we ever hope to get a better idea of what the 'big picture' really is we have to consider two things. First is that individually we don't know as much as we like to think we do. Second is that everyone's life and perspective contribute to the 'big picture'. Together we can work to understand even those people our society considers 'wrong', 'stupid', or 'crazy'.