There are always at least two sides to every story, if not more. Everyone is always so quick to point out that every coin has 2 sides, true enough. But there is so much more than that. What about all that in between space? The part that connects the two sides — the middle ground. I think the part that links the two sides is so heavily discounted because it is largely unseen. Each side is distinct and leaves nothing to the imagination, with etched in drawings and words that leave little room for interpretation. What is so quickly overlooked is the iota of space between those 2 sides that creates the possibility of having sides in the first place. The glue, if you will, that holds it all together is uncertain. It is unknowable. Conjecture as to what lies inbetween is possible, and analysis can be conducted, but ultimately all you are left with is an unending dearth of possibilities. (note: obviously, I am speaking metaphorically. A real coin is made of metal, duh. Bear with me). If this makes any sense to you at this point, I would appreciate and explanation…
I guess where my mind is taking me is into the realm of possibilities. I have always been fairly comfortable with the idea that it is impossible for anyone to know everything. That we all live finite existences in an infinite universe. I am even a little more than content with the idea that some mysteries will never be solved. Perhaps that is where faith and religion make the most sense to me — it is impossible to affirmatively disprove the existence of an ethereal being. You either choose to accept the impossibility of knowing one way or the other and believe, or reject the idea that anything so vague and elusive could exist without being rationally based. Either way, its a fascinating set of options. The latter, probably most notably embodied in the idea of nihilism, is to be totally void of belief.
Whoa, did not expect to go that way. What I was originally thinking about before becoming so completely sidetracked was the way a story gets formed. Human perception is so alarming to me, and maybe that is because I can be unfortunately unperceptive. It seems like people’s true perceptions are never identical — confirming that no two people are created the same…but it certainly creates an overwhelming amount of confusion. When everyone is simply telling their own version of a story without any attempt at removing their personal slant from the story, well, it makes for complete convoluted chaos. It is especially interesting when the story is passed by someone who was not a party to the original occurrence, aka, gossip. Everyone (that I know) presents a slant based on their own perception of the events as well as to whom they are speaking. A story can go through many different revisions based simply on change in audience. Makes me wonder if this is something we are all born with — the ability to edit an event to our own liking — or if that is something we had to be taught. I would err on the side of being taught that kind of behavior. Especially considering we have to be taught how to lie, and how to empathize.
What would the world be like if we could all see through all the bullshit and actually say what we thought without all the revisions? Perhaps not as pleasant at times, but maybe a little simpler? I’m sure it would just be a different version of this reality, with its own set of problems. Unintended complications and unforeseen consequences, no doubt.
I wish I could tell you what I was really trying to say in this post, but at this point I’m not even sure…a conundrum of the worst kind 🙂
Sagacious Student 