U(ig)n(orance)derstand

Recently, I have become slightly agitated as I feel I have encountered a few of those people who come to conclusions before asking questions. The people that believe they know everything when they simply know nothing except for the stories they tell themselves daily. The people who believe in boxes and black and white. There’s no colour, there’s no uniqueness, everything must fit perfectly into a box and then placed to the side. Labelled, judged, and then categorised.

Maybe I am wrong and maybe it is wrong of me that I have perceived them this way because am I not putting them into a section myself? Then again, maybe not.

The difference is that I have tried to understand where they are coming from, understand why they may think that way, or where their beliefs originate from. I’m not saying they are wrong for thinking they way they do as I’m not sure there can really be a right and wrong way of thinking, as long as we are all ‘thinking.’ That’s where the real argument would come in..

Thinking – verb. The process of considering or reasoning about something. An action. To put time and energy into the thought process about something. That means when having a conversation with someone whether you are agreeing or disagreeing, if you are just shooting back facts or opinions, you aren’t really thinking. You are just taking what you know and already believe and trying to reflect those ideas onto somebody else. You are not taking the time to actually understand the other person and what they may be countering you with.

It would almost be like placing an order for burger, but the people on the receiving end only get a list of the ingredients and they serve them to you individually. For instance on the screen you order a burger with everything. The chef gets a print out that you want tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickle, buns, and a patty. He sends out all of the ingredients separately because he didn’t think to put them all together to make a complete burger. Technically the ingredients are all the same, but the product is completely different, maybe not in taste but visually.

To me, that is similar to thinking. You could have a conversation with someone spit the facts and opinions at them without thinking and you get all of the individual ingredients. Have the same conversation, can input your facts and opinions, but this time ‘think’ and take into consideration what the other person is saying. Wahlah, a beautiful, delicious burger!!!

Who knows the burger may even evolve since now you are processing information that may be contrary to what you previously thought and believed. Doesn’t mean your feelings and beliefs may change about them, but perhaps you have gained a greater understanding and different perspective of the opposing side.

You can keep the ingredients the same, but now you have a little extra flavour. A little extra sauce.

Use the sauce to fill gaps. Once the gaps are filled, investigate the new connections that can have been made. A new path, a new way of thinking. Your thinking evolves, now you have a greater understanding of people. It can be easy to dismiss the thoughts and opinions of others when they are different from your own. That’s when we need to look past their opinions and try to discover why they have the opinions that they do because that will give you greater insight into what they believe.

It is learning how to separate facts from feelings. Things can get confusing when feelings get involved as the way we feel can influence the way we react and what we hear. If we are truly trying to learn then it is essential that we take the facts from the story and leave the feelings on the side. Now we are back to thinking. In order to distort between the two we have to actively listen, engage, and absorb the information that is coming. Processing it so that we can send it to the forefront of our thinking.

Without the act of thinking, we can easily become distracted. Distractions can lead us astray, taking away focus and causing delay. Sometimes the wires get crossed, sometimes we make new connections, and sometimes wires dissolve. Our brains and thinking are like anything else. Don’t use it, lose it.

In today’s world, things are becoming more automatic and there are more distractions now than ever. It is important to not only keep working on what we have and using our own way of thinking, but also limit the amount of time doing the things that are doing the thinking for us.

Keep it fresh and keep it moving. Grease those machines people. Ask the questions before forming your opinion.

Think. Think about your thinking. Think about the people. Think about the environment, cultures, differences. Think for yourself.

Don’t be the ignorant, be the understanding.

Stay educated.