Peculiar Okafor: The Fresh Perspective

Reading and indeed writing are one of my favorite things to do, so I usually visit blogs to read up on social happenings and write whenever I am so inspired. One of the funniest things, however, is to see people comment or posts in ways that make you wonder if they ever read or took the time to understand the post at all. It is worse still to see people actually fight or cuss others in a bid to stand firm on their point of view. ‘God punish you for saying that to me, I’m telling you all these people have no money in the bank, you have the brain of a crayfish‘. Shio, we’re sorry.

This attitude is not just limited to social media, it also relates to the way we argue in real life or even judge the situations in our lives. The truth is most of us see the world through the eyes of our heart and how we view the world and situations is a reflection of how are insides and the personal history we all come with (some could call them baggage. I like to call them ‘designer suitcases’)

I remember a story I heard as a kid of a woman who always complained to her husband about their neighbors being dirty. Their clothes and cars were always a dirty shade of brown and it irritated her but since she had never talked to them or even seen them except through the window of her room, she couldn’t say anything to them. One day she excitedly called her husband to the window to come and see that the neighbors had changed, their clothes were a sparkling white and the husband responded quietly ‘I cleaned the windows this morning, they hadn’t been cleaned in years’.

In life, our understanding of and reaction to our surroundings and the happenings around us is largely dependent on our perceptions and internal filters (i.e how we access the world), having a negative mindset and belief system can actually affect our quality of life. It’s like the beautiful girl who only sees the huge nose when she looks in the mirror or the billionaire who is still just a poor boy in the inside. In order to make the most of our lives, it is important we let go of our filters and have a fresh perspective as detailed below:

It’s time to forgive the negative past experiences and all those who contributed to it including yourself.

Release. Let it go, the past and look forward. Don’t make it the yardstick for how you judge situations. I’m not saying you can’t learn from them just keep the lessons and move on.

Exalt your maker. Show gratitude to the one who controls the world and be thankful because you know that he will work everything to your good.

Sympathize with the next person. Try hard to walk in their shoes. Don’t assume you know the reasons for people’s action or the meaning of the last post you read or event you heard about without taking the patience to understand. It’s simply sympathy for divergent point of views

Have faith in God and humanity. I know we are flawed; I know people do bad things, but we are not hopeless. Give people the benefit of doubt and really listen and observe not because you are stupid but because each day is really a clean slate and a second chance and sound decisions can only be taken when we apply unbiased evaluations to situations.

As we step into a new quarter, may we resolve to take time to understand people and situations in order to promote tolerance but more importantly, may we decide to let go of everything negative and look at the world with clean eyes.

Have a blessed quarter.

Photo Credit: Dreamtime | Photographerlondon