Reflection: Mon 9/8/03

Reflection: Mon 9/8/03

Everyone hears what he listens for.
I am not sure where I heard this little statement, but I heard it maybe a week or two ago. This isn’t any new revelation to me, because I have always believed that when a person dwells on a particular thing, it helps bring that thing to pass. This sort of mentality seems to help many, and also hurt many others. Many people spent their lives worrying about things that might happen. What this worrying is is the person listening for those things she is worrying about to happen. So when I stereotype somebody or categorize them I place myself in the position where I listen for the information to validate my unsubstantiated assumption. After gaining some information I can usually reason the information to support my reason for the stereotype. This happens to me a lot and I do not even realize I am doing it. This does not just stereotyping people, but also outcomes and situations. I know when I listen for the good things in people, that is generally all I see. Then others come and ask me why I like some person, because they have some “bad” traits. I don’t know, maybe I am blind and naive and don’t see a lot of other stuff some see. But then again, those people did not see the good side of the person either. I think many people look for the flaws and use those as excuses why another person is inadequate for something in some way. I tend to take a different approach to people. I look for the good things in a personals character and personality. It’s pretty hard for me to see any flaws in anybody. And I am glad this is the way my mind works. I cannot imagine thinking about any particular person and the first thing that comes to mind is how the person messed up in the past or something and so that person isn’t good enough for something.
It is just amazing that I can pick out a certain voice out of a crowd or a certain note from an orchestral piece. There is so much more out there we miss when we focus our energy into hearing or experiencing the one thing. We miss out on so much. I am going to try very hard this year to branch out and try new things. This reminds me of something my TCC professor said last week, “Life is habit, occasionally interrupted by thought.” I know I get into a very monotonous lifestyle, doing the same thing every week. I don’t want to get into my comfort zone of habit and just live there day in and day out. It’s time to take some chances, make mistakes and learn about myself.