Everyday Canvas

Understanding Each Other

Prompt: "If we could look into each other's hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently with more love, patience, tolerance and care.”
Marvin J Ashton
How do you feel about this?

========

I certainly agree with Martin Ashton; however, the act of looking into someone else’s heart and understanding their unique situation is not as easy as uttering profound statements, and this is certainly not for everyone because even those who are good students of human nature can fail to achieve such an in-depth look into someone else’s heart.

In addition, part of understanding others comes from the knowledge, respect, and the ability to deal in a right way with the diversity of people and their cultural differences. All human behavior is the result of some form of influence such as genetics, attitude, emotions, culture, and the specific comprehension of ethics and behavioral habits within a group, which is called the social norm. Good managers and leaders understand this and treat people working under them accordingly.

Still, with all our differences and distinctions, each human being wants the same things out of life like purpose, fulfillment, happiness, and being respected. Yet, most of us, knowingly or unknowingly believe that our way is the right way and our path is the only single correct path without making an effort to take into account or at least to respect other points of view.

If we could get over ourselves and try to truly understand each other, we would all be very happy on the face of this earth, because understanding others supports the feeling of belonging, and a lack of understanding not only prevents the feeling of belonging but also it can create enemies. Most wars, arguments, fights and altercations are the results of simple misunderstandings blown out of proportion.

In understanding others, understanding alone may not be enough, either. After the initial understanding, it is important to figure out how to act, behave, or react to others. Part of this is in knowing what drives the human behavior and respecting the energy behind it. Then, we need to know how to talk properly for the occasion to persuade and inspire people so we can achieve common objectives.

For this end, we all need to learn tolerance first. After that, we can move toward an acceptance of people whether they are like us or not. Even past the tolerance and acceptance of others, we need to respect and appreciate the differences. When we sincerely respect and appreciate people for who they are but not who we want them to be, then we can achieve the true understanding that Marvin J Ashton has mentioned in the prompt's quote.