For the longest time, I’ve wondered whether anyone else experiences the world the way I do. Since I was a youngling. I guess it’s because I’ve always felt like I see the world differently than others. Scientifically, everyone else sees the world differently than you do.
No one thinks the way you do. No one experiences everyday life the way you do. No one feels things the way you do.
I know this might sound a little abstract. Though what I’m talking about is that you, in your body, with your brain, experience this existence or life on Earth uniquely compared to others. There’s no comparison. And by that, I mean that science hasn’t quite advanced to the point where we can truly compare our experiences. The only way you’d truly be able to do that is by swapping consciousness with another body. To do that, we first need to figure out and agree on where consciousness resides in the brain, for it is the brain that allows us to experience this thing called consciousness.
Take for example two individuals who went through the same experience, like a mugging for example. The way person A experienced the sequence of events, and the internal responses that followed this exposure to person A’s environment will differ from that of person B. Even if you placed identical twins in the same scenario their reactions and personal experiences would differ in some way.
Have you ever given any thought to this particular little bit of information? No two human beings have ever, or could ever, experience the same reality. Unless they shared the same consciousness and the same brain. And how would that work?
Experience is subjective.
So why is it that we so eagerly judge other people’s experiences when we have no idea what that is? Even if you think you know, you don’t. You have no way of knowing. You can guess based on your own experience. But you can NEVER truly know.
Ego? I guess. How many people would you guess have the ability to look past their ego? Well that part of ourselves that we’ve come to call ‘ego’ anyway. I’d guess that percentage to be pretty low. Perhaps this is one of the things we should be teaching both our children and ourselves. That you never truly know what someone else is going through. That you never truly know how someone else’s unique brain and nervous system reacts to the experiences they go through. You can never truly know and shouldn’t pretend to do so either.
My point is that we should try harder to not judge others. I’d bet money that you want others to practice understanding toward you. I know I do. I also know that the world would be a kinder place if we all just allowed each other their own experiences and realities. My reality is not your reality. Your reality is not mine. We all exist together in this time, on this planet, sharing the same molecular structures — yes.
Still, no one experiences reality the way you do.
These are just some of my thoughts.
