Mel Robbins has been known to say that if others could hear how we talk to ourselves in our heads, we would be institutionalized. To try to argue that statement would be an act of deception. No matter our age we seem to always virtually beat ourselves over the head with the stick known best as 20/20 hindsight.
Photo by Kenrick Mills on Unsplash
We can be slow to learn. It is the struggle that earns wisdom. I got to peer through the cloudy window into the past the other day and was very surprised at what I found. My 19-year-old self, directionless and inexperienced was struggling during a very uncomfortable and difficult time in my life. As this happened, a good friend looked across the cavern separating us and saw order and intention.
As I looked back over to him, he seemed confident and focused. I learned that he also felt directionless and without purpose. Driven by our individual self-doubt and our perceptions of each other, we launched ourselves into our lives, my friend choosing structure and me choosing something reminiscent of a good old-fashioned English fox hunt, of course, me being the fox.
If two friends could misread the status of a life, its works, and intent (not sure I am saying that of self or the other) then what does this mean when conflict has risen between two powerful opposing leaders?
In the context of friends, what do we trust? Our perception of a friend? Our perception of the person in the mirror? The most amazing part of all of this is that it only took 40 years to find out.