The three three shades of colours of the same bunch of flowers above, are attributable to the different 'light' levels under which the pictures were taken. The pictures taken during the golden hour of the morning, with about fifteen minutes apart from each other, surprised me to say the least. All the three pictures were taken in the auto mode of the camera.
This took me by surprise as it became a metaphor to me, of the light within us which interprets the information that we receive. There is a subjective element in the way we process what we see and hear. That subjective factor is the optic which guides us inwardly.
One person sees a cat and feels comfortable. Another person gets irritated at the sight of a cat. A third person seeing a cat might get carried away by a superstition!
Recently at my work place, we had a discussion about the way we view the precautions we are asked to take to protect ourselves from contracting the Corona viral infection. Each person behaves in one particulate way in following the universal precautions. This is conditioned by our belief system and the state of vigilance.
The over dependance we carry on the veracity of our own perception is what makes us live with shades of opinion, often missing the truth in its entirety.
The variable factor, which makes us perceive information differently is our internal optic, conditioned by our earlier years of beliefs and habits.
This is often the cause of tensions and differences of opinion which divide a group. The recent experience of some state governments in India deciding to open the schools to children while some other governments differing to do so is because of this difference in the perception of facts. Some give merit to one aspect, such as the risk of infection to children in the pandemic season and the others feel disturbed by prolonged denial of schooling to children, now extending to its second school year.
A third group is striving to get acceptance to vaccinate children before the school year can begin. A fourth group is strongly pleading for vaccinating all above 18 years or 12 years of age so that the infectivity rate in the community would come down. Another group sees from another angle- so far even when children were infected, they escaped by a mild infection.
It is the optic within which determines the perception as to which factor, would get more attention in a given situation.
The fact is that all the above thoughts are weighty enough to influence a decision, but if freed of bias, all of these opinions would receive equal weight and the decision would be balanced by the evidence in existence in favour of each shade of thinking.
How are we to orient our inner optic to be fair, neutral and wholistic instead of being subjective and opinionated by impressions rather than evidence!
Most scholars who study human behaviour suggest that we develop an inner renewal process by questioning our own perceptions and revise our opinions with more evidence and facts.
A dominant person in a group swings opinions; but what is desirable is an audit of all opinions rather than give weightage to one opinion, because that was stated loudly or forcefully by someone who was in the leadership role!
I have a personal feeling that the Prime Minister of India for most part of the initial period of the early part of the pandemic relied on information that was coloured by some religious beliefs. He publicly stated that, India would overcome the pandemic with a national lock down, just as he believed that by demonetisation of large denomination currencies, the black money would be unearthed. In both situations the outcome was far from what he proclaimed or pursued.
Let me suggest that our beliefs are biased and not always factual.
The inner optic needs renewal and resetting!
If the optic within us is full fo light we would live in the light!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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