Recently I have been thinking about the importance of the origin of our thoughts to the conclusions that we draw. For instance, how we determine value often time derives from the value of that we create in our own minds. For example, if someone were to break something that belonged to you, how would you respond? Your answer of course depends on 1 - who the person was, 2 - how valuable the item was, and 3 - the understood intent of the person who broke it. If it was your best friend who broke something very valuable to you, you might respond differently than if it were a complete stranger that broke something of little significance. Often we will attribute grace/mercy to those we value, and judgment/guilt to those who are "insignificant" to us.
How do we determine who is of value, and who is not? (You say, "I don't do that, everyone is of equal value", and I would reply that in fact you do place value on some over others because of the way you care for some and not for others. But that is a discussion for another day) It is in the origin of our thoughts that we determine who is valuable to us, and who is "less significant" to us. It does not mean we do not care about them, it just means that in the scope of life, they are not our primary concern.
I remember seeing this picture on a book belonging to one of the kids in my class in highschool. I used it because it represents an interesting point. Where in the picture is down? Depending on where you start will determine your conclusion.
In life, we see that this is often the way we handle situations, people, things, choices, etc. My perspective is the correct one and therefore is the measuring tool I use to evaluate everything. We all think this way - whether or not we want to believe it, it is how we think.
Some have come to the understanding that there is a final authority of evaluation that is outside of ourselves. Without an actual standard that is absolute, nothing is absolute. If everything depends on the perspective of the originator, then if left to our own, chaos must ensue because no matter how alike we think we might be with others, we still have a perspective that is distinct, therefore leading ultimately to different conclusions.
There is much more to say about the things going through my mind, but for now, I'd like to hear where you would go with what has been presented already.
