Proof
Why are people asking for proof of personal experiences. It's almost ridiculous. I can't state that I've seen something happening without notarized screen shots, minimum four impartial witnesses of gender and/or race other than my own, video that is proven "untampered" by at least 3 independent sources and/or links to video of the same incident posted/shared by approximately half a dozen total strangers . Personal experience is no longer a valid thing. You thought the Grand Canyon was beautiful? Well, the general consensus is that it's a blight on the earth so you. are. wrong. Unless you can prove that the Grand Canyon is beautiful your words will be disregarded.
Anything that happens in a room with closed doors and no recording devices installed and operated by a neutral third party - didn't happen.
Since when do we require the same level of exhaustive evidence gathering from our friends and family in regards to their life experience that we require from the people who are running our country/world when they are making decisions that impact all of us?
I'm not arguing with you about the rate of death and infertility from botched abortions in the time before Roe vs. Wade as compared to the same rate with safe legal procedures occurring now so why am I required to prove that level of evidence to support my claim that I experienced something, or perceived something to be a certain way... It could never occur to you that not only could this be happening outside of the sphere of my life which you share but it could be happening in a way that you wouldn't perceive to be as negative as I perceive it?
Why do I have to make my experiences and my perceptions match yours in order to be understood or appreciated by you? Especially if you are one of the many, many people in my life who go on and on about understanding, walking a mile in another's shoes and the importance of empathy.
Those who make the most about empathy seem to possess the least of it.
I keep telling myself that my sphere of influence shows me a world where people are spreading the word, and if not increasing empathy at least increasing education to the point where empathy may at least be replaced by understanding. This is only my sphere of influence.... and even then it's probably not everyone within that sphere, to make the assumption that everyone within my sphere believes everything the same as I is not only foolish but detrimental to my health... and I see others within my sphere share this bit of wisdom... it angers me when those who share the most memes about a topic are those who display the positive aspects of those memes the least frequently in their life... and how the most intelligent among us are often the least able to see where they themselves are failing to practice what they preach - myself included.
I'm hoping that all this writing will help me to better see my own hypocrisies, as it has done in the past. Just writing it all out, puzzling it in a semi-public fashion can often help me to focus my beliefs and see where I contradict myself, educate myself and change my own mind. It's actually quite a beautiful process but it's also painful.
Being in the depths of depression that I am right now it's struggle to do much more than allow the painful thoughts to spiral out of control, keeping me at the bottom of the pit. Writing it out strengthens it during the process but afterwards the spirals are often smaller and easier to lock back into their cage. I simultaneously love and hate the process. I'd much rather share anecdotes of hilarity, wisdom or beauty from my day but I'm locked down by all the ugly and have to spew it...
It depresses me that the process is so misunderstood by so many people. So many of us have to hide ourselves away from the people we love when this is occurring because - despite many of them also being victims of the same cycle - they don't understand. I know I don't. I have a hard time dealing with someone in this mind state unless I'm in the same state of mind... the person I used to turn to when I felt this way has conveniently removed herself, again, from my life and I'm not letting that tornado out of its cage. I've made my decisions.
Anything that happens in a room with closed doors and no recording devices installed and operated by a neutral third party - didn't happen.
Since when do we require the same level of exhaustive evidence gathering from our friends and family in regards to their life experience that we require from the people who are running our country/world when they are making decisions that impact all of us?
I'm not arguing with you about the rate of death and infertility from botched abortions in the time before Roe vs. Wade as compared to the same rate with safe legal procedures occurring now so why am I required to prove that level of evidence to support my claim that I experienced something, or perceived something to be a certain way... It could never occur to you that not only could this be happening outside of the sphere of my life which you share but it could be happening in a way that you wouldn't perceive to be as negative as I perceive it?
Why do I have to make my experiences and my perceptions match yours in order to be understood or appreciated by you? Especially if you are one of the many, many people in my life who go on and on about understanding, walking a mile in another's shoes and the importance of empathy.
Those who make the most about empathy seem to possess the least of it.
I keep telling myself that my sphere of influence shows me a world where people are spreading the word, and if not increasing empathy at least increasing education to the point where empathy may at least be replaced by understanding. This is only my sphere of influence.... and even then it's probably not everyone within that sphere, to make the assumption that everyone within my sphere believes everything the same as I is not only foolish but detrimental to my health... and I see others within my sphere share this bit of wisdom... it angers me when those who share the most memes about a topic are those who display the positive aspects of those memes the least frequently in their life... and how the most intelligent among us are often the least able to see where they themselves are failing to practice what they preach - myself included.
I'm hoping that all this writing will help me to better see my own hypocrisies, as it has done in the past. Just writing it all out, puzzling it in a semi-public fashion can often help me to focus my beliefs and see where I contradict myself, educate myself and change my own mind. It's actually quite a beautiful process but it's also painful.
Being in the depths of depression that I am right now it's struggle to do much more than allow the painful thoughts to spiral out of control, keeping me at the bottom of the pit. Writing it out strengthens it during the process but afterwards the spirals are often smaller and easier to lock back into their cage. I simultaneously love and hate the process. I'd much rather share anecdotes of hilarity, wisdom or beauty from my day but I'm locked down by all the ugly and have to spew it...
It depresses me that the process is so misunderstood by so many people. So many of us have to hide ourselves away from the people we love when this is occurring because - despite many of them also being victims of the same cycle - they don't understand. I know I don't. I have a hard time dealing with someone in this mind state unless I'm in the same state of mind... the person I used to turn to when I felt this way has conveniently removed herself, again, from my life and I'm not letting that tornado out of its cage. I've made my decisions.
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