If you look through my archives, even just 10 of the most recent posts, you’ll see that the most common way for me to begin a post is with “I…”
There’s a reason for this: it’s how I think. I’m like this submarine with a cyclopic periscope. Everything I see or feel or hear starts from my own perspective. I observe the world from within myself, so how I think starts with me.
For the longest time, I’ve just accepted this as a fact of life. Partially, it stems from my belief in subjective reality. I don’t think there’s this objective universe out that we can understand apart from ourselves. Partially, though, I know I’m just self-centered most of the time. Combined, those don’t leave much opportunity for starting any other way.
But I need a new way. I’ve come to the point where I’d like to be able to think not from my own perspective first but from someone else’s. It’s not enough to just think, “What would I do if I were them?” or, “How would I think if I were them?” I need to be able to switch completely into wondering, “What do they do?” and, “How do they think?”
I’m not entirely sure it’s possible to transport that far into someone else’s consciousness. Until now, I haven’t believed it would work. I guess now I’m just opening the possibility. Or, even if it’s not possible, I’m finally wanting it to be.
