belief systems

Slowly relaxing now, after a stretch of being unwillingly thrust into Big Complex Drama even when I had no part in it initially... and no desire for it... and, even more than usual, no time for it. :) The mellow/peaceful can still stumble into the occasional battlefield.

All a useful experience. Needing to understand people whose perspectives are extremely different from one's own is always useful.

... as is being able to shake one's head in wonder, rather than anger, at the distortions and falsehoods that can pop up just one step away in the telephone game.

... as is accepting that the most local version of truth (or at least emotional truth) might depend on another person genuinely believing something that in one's own mind seems materially -- factually -- impossible to believe.

I've been described more than once by that peculiar and telling phrase, "honest to a fault." In many contexts, honesty puts one at a disadvantage. In many contexts, honesty is considered un-American, unsophisticated, naïve. But in some cases, the lines are quite fuzzy. And recently I've dealt with fallout from the whole spectrum of people's actions ranging from lies to misunderstandings. Unambiguously-on-purpose lies; actions with unclear purpose or unclear origin; and misunderstandings that only caused damage because they were inappropriately shared in public.

The answer is always trying to see the biggest possible picture -- the broadest range of perspectives and possible motivations. Especially when one is dealing with humans one cares about, intent and perspective matter as much as the actions that come from them. The real work, the often hard and dizzying work, is in uncovering intent and perspective. As for the situation at hand, even if some of the intent/perspective isn't yet obvious, the key is that I'm still trying to understand it.