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September 9, 2012
face value (n.)
Last week, I divulged some fatalistic philosophies, about the design behind all we face - in ourselves and our reactions, and in the behaviour of others. (After all, interaction is just a bunch of reactions firing off.) I then briefly concluded that it's important to look for the story and intricacies behind things that are happening in order to appreciate them, even if (especially, if ) they're bad. Finding compassion and understanding helps you react more calmly, get less flustered, and think your reaction through a bit better before you act and set off a negative chain reaction.
Jumping to conclusions is based on expectations. Our expectations can affect our attitude toward ourselves - take for instance in yoga class: How deep we can go into a yoga pose; how long we can hold it
for; how we should look in it, etc. That's why I think that we should look into the design of things to try and understand the motivations behind things that happen (or don't happen); in short, we should be trying to avoid judging things at face value.
Just like we have certain expectations of ourselves, we also have expectations of others. We assume people will act a certain way, and when they don't (or when they do, to our discontent) we often forget that they, too, are dealing with their own challenges, and reactions; the best we can do is not further perpetuate an icky chain reaction by being only concerned with their face value. Don't judge a book by it's cover!
A tension always exists when human beings try to face difficult truths. So, the best we can do when we are faced with a negative vibe from ourselves or someone else is to read it beyond what's simply seen right off the bat (it could be a foul or a home run, a strike or a walk, a hit or a fly ball... Except in life, it's often more than just one of these outcomes!)
Observing the world, every nook and cranny of it, rather than just reacting to it, makes it all the more satisfying to be a part of because we realize that every truth has many faces. Perhaps we'll see that the challenge is just a facade we've created to avoid having to take on new opportunities that may help us to prevail, improve, succeed. It's always easier to just throw a tantrum, freak out, turn into a baby, clench up, etc., etc.
A lot of this thinking has actually been inspired by a show that I religiously watch: America's Next Top Model. (Don't judge me, or it, at face value!) As I watch the girls endlessly battle it out in photoshoots and get all catty with each other in the house, I am reminded that I shouldn't take it at face value - like all TV, it's edited for a certain audience with certain objectives in mind. It isn't a straight-up representation of what went down in the actual competition - duh. But there's another lesson to be learned: The entertainment value of it is still in its face value. Sometimes we just have to be a bit lazy (of body and mind) and coast a bit to enjoy life. Just don't forget to look beyond the shell, the cover, the screen, the face; otherwise you'll get duped into believing a reality that just isn't or doesn't have to be.
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| You better believe it there's a book. |
Just like we have certain expectations of ourselves, we also have expectations of others. We assume people will act a certain way, and when they don't (or when they do, to our discontent) we often forget that they, too, are dealing with their own challenges, and reactions; the best we can do is not further perpetuate an icky chain reaction by being only concerned with their face value. Don't judge a book by it's cover!
A tension always exists when human beings try to face difficult truths. So, the best we can do when we are faced with a negative vibe from ourselves or someone else is to read it beyond what's simply seen right off the bat (it could be a foul or a home run, a strike or a walk, a hit or a fly ball... Except in life, it's often more than just one of these outcomes!)
Observing the world, every nook and cranny of it, rather than just reacting to it, makes it all the more satisfying to be a part of because we realize that every truth has many faces. Perhaps we'll see that the challenge is just a facade we've created to avoid having to take on new opportunities that may help us to prevail, improve, succeed. It's always easier to just throw a tantrum, freak out, turn into a baby, clench up, etc., etc.
A lot of this thinking has actually been inspired by a show that I religiously watch: America's Next Top Model. (Don't judge me, or it, at face value!) As I watch the girls endlessly battle it out in photoshoots and get all catty with each other in the house, I am reminded that I shouldn't take it at face value - like all TV, it's edited for a certain audience with certain objectives in mind. It isn't a straight-up representation of what went down in the actual competition - duh. But there's another lesson to be learned: The entertainment value of it is still in its face value. Sometimes we just have to be a bit lazy (of body and mind) and coast a bit to enjoy life. Just don't forget to look beyond the shell, the cover, the screen, the face; otherwise you'll get duped into believing a reality that just isn't or doesn't have to be.
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