Stormie,
I really, really, really, really love your post. It is exactly the type of thoughtful and kind discussion that is needed to allow us to learn from each other.
I respectfully add my reflections as follows:
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Originally Posted by Stormieweather
But our individual truth is all we can offer, isn't it? This is what makes humans so fascinating...in my opinion.
Isn't that why we choose who our friends are and why we have them in the first place? Having friends whose 'truth' is not TOO different than our own and yet whose feedback from a different perspective allows us to more objectively view the situation at hand. I know I wouldn't want my friends to all be carbon copies of me, because I want to hear what other people think (those I respect and trust anyway)..be it how my new haircut looks, or if I'm seeing my relationship clearly, or if I'm being a biatch in a certain instance.
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The ability to appreciate and desire another person’s individual truth is a rare blessing in our current world. Many believe ANY difference of opinion is a direct attack on their own beliefs. If our individual truth is all we have, this perceived attack is then equal to damaging/killing all that we are = nonexistence. What a horrible fear to live with each day. If I believe you are my brother ( I use brother as a term meaning someone you trust and love), and she is my sister, and EVERY other human in existence is my brother/sister I will cherish all of their individual experiences and truths. Here is the paradox: the more I believe in ANY individual truth, the further I am from believing all others are my brothers/sisters. If I don’t believe ALL people are my brothers and sisters I will never be free from fear of attack, separation, individual loss, emotional pain, etc….
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Originally Posted by Stormieweather
The distance between point A and point B is provable data, even when the routes taken vary. That the sun is hot is an indisputable fact. My hair looks good is a belief (or delusion :p ). Intelligent people are more successful than those less intellectually endowed is a belief (depends on your personal definition of success). Humanity begins at conception is a belief. I think 90 degrees is hot, someone who lives in the tropics may think its downright cool. Beliefs can be changed, facts cannot
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You have a knack for explaining things clearly. Is teaching a part of your current lifework?
What would you measure the distance between A and B with? Would you use a ruler, a surveyor’s tool, or a digital instrument? There is no instrument on earth that can measure the exact distance between two points. Every tool we have to accomplish this task is based on approximations, not an exact factual length. Lets also consider this: Walk to the half point from A and B. Now walk to the half point between your current position and B. Now do the same again. Keep doing this. You would do this for eternity. There is no length so small that you cannot take half of it. This is why I perceive very, very few things as fact or truth.
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Originally Posted by Stormieweather
Tolerance allows us to understand that everyone has their own 'truth', even when it is directly opposed to our own. Understanding it doesn't mean condoning or accepting it, just that we acknowledge that others feel as strongly about their truths as we do about our own.
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Beautiful!