Yet Another Point of View
Someone once asked me 'What are your principles in life? What do you believe in?' It’s a loaded question, almost burdensome. If I claimed to be ‘principled’ should I be carrying around a bag full of solid, defined, ‘value’ nuggets that I can use to weigh each situation in life? Or is it more like a bound volume of neatly-outlined instructions that I can refer to every time I am in a fix? I actually got into a fix trying to answer that question. Wish I really had the ‘bound volume’! So much easier, isn’t it, if you know exactly how to measure up an issue or person or situation? If only there were some kind of depth markers which gave you an indication of where you stood!
From all the living I have done so far (and, it’s a respectable amount), I have a strong feeling there are no such lines on the wall. It’s really about the angle you look at things. It’s all about your point of view. There, I have nailed it. I have a Point of View (POV). Or maybe, several points of view. Not to say that I am immoral or unscrupulous or corrupt. Just to say that I am liberal and lenient and open-minded. ‘This is the angle from which I am looking at it; if you are taking in the view from another point, I am OK with it.’ Within the range of a really broad value-perimeter, I am tolerant of different vantage points.
I have this theory that everyone, absolutely everyone in this world, is opinionated; just that they all are not articulate enough to express their opinion. So, really, there are as many POVs as there are people on this planet. Who’s to say mine is on higher ground than yours?
I could be looking at something from a professional angle. I could be one of the parties involved in an issue. Sometimes I am a bystander. I could look at something as a parent. And then, there’s always the perspective of a woman. If you don’t get the woman’s point of view, what’s the point? (Couldn’t resist this quip!:))
So, I am a little hesitant to set down the things I believe in as ‘Principles’, something like edicts written in stone. I would rather call them Points of View. And the view changes sometimes. Is that a good thing or bad?
From all the living I have done so far (and, it’s a respectable amount), I have a strong feeling there are no such lines on the wall. It’s really about the angle you look at things. It’s all about your point of view. There, I have nailed it. I have a Point of View (POV). Or maybe, several points of view. Not to say that I am immoral or unscrupulous or corrupt. Just to say that I am liberal and lenient and open-minded. ‘This is the angle from which I am looking at it; if you are taking in the view from another point, I am OK with it.’ Within the range of a really broad value-perimeter, I am tolerant of different vantage points.
I have this theory that everyone, absolutely everyone in this world, is opinionated; just that they all are not articulate enough to express their opinion. So, really, there are as many POVs as there are people on this planet. Who’s to say mine is on higher ground than yours?
I could be looking at something from a professional angle. I could be one of the parties involved in an issue. Sometimes I am a bystander. I could look at something as a parent. And then, there’s always the perspective of a woman. If you don’t get the woman’s point of view, what’s the point? (Couldn’t resist this quip!:))
So, I am a little hesitant to set down the things I believe in as ‘Principles’, something like edicts written in stone. I would rather call them Points of View. And the view changes sometimes. Is that a good thing or bad?
Comments
Well... must say that "a point of view" looks like a great place to start and stay in...