Perspective

What is Perspective?

The perspective is the angle or direction in which a person looks at an object. In simple words, it is our point of view. Different people have different perspectives. Putting oneself in other’s perspective always changes the perception of life. We might see the same scene or object in different ways when we use different perspectives.

The term perspective has several meanings in different contexts. In philosophy, perspective refers to the context of opinions, beliefs, and experiences. In graphics, perspective refers to representing the effects of visual perspective in graphic arts. In literature, perspective refers to the point of view.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

Seeing Things Differently

 The probably familiar images of two straight lines (of equal length) and a candlestick or wine glass (or two faces) show us that things are often not as they first seem, and there's almost always a different perspective.

When there's a traffic accident, police ask for witnesses to come forward and describe what happened. They like to have as many witness statements as possible so that they can build up enough evidence to give them a broader, more realistic version of events. In a traffic accident, there will be many different perspectives on what happened. The driver of one car will have one view, another driver or a passenger will have yet another view. Each onlooker who witnessed the accident will have a slightly different perspective, depending on where they were, how far they were, how good a view they had, what else was going on, how much danger they felt they were in, how the accident affected them, what the accident means to them.

It's the same principle with everything - each situation, event, conversation, means something different to all those involved, and also to those not involved. We give different meanings, according to our belief systems, and how we are affected by the event.

We all have our own realities. Anais Nin said:

"We don't see things as they are; we see things as we are"

We look at situations, events, and interpret what other people say and do, according to our own set of past experiences, culture, faith, values, all of which help us from our beliefs about us, about others, and about the world in general. The meaning we give events, the way we make sense of our world, is based upon our set of core beliefs.


Our minds are constantly trying to make sense of our world, forming judgements and opinions about every situation, event, and interaction. Those judgements and opinions will be affected by our central or core belief system. It is as though we are looking at the world through distorted or coloured lenses - and everyone has their own personal prescription or colour for their glasses.

Core belief system comprises:

• How I think about myself
• How I think about others
• How I think about the world

Our core belief system is formed and influenced by:

Past experiences

• Childhood upbringing
• Culture
• Faith
• Values
• Current circumstances
• Character traits, including genetic influences

Example:

In the example above, even situations in which others present find enjoyable and relaxing, this particular person will experience it very differently, and feel threatened by others. A look, word or gesture intended to be friendly and kind, may be interpreted as "They don't mean that. They're only trying to be kind to me because they pity me". Or even, "They mean to hurt me". Their mind is interpreting the situation with the bias of "I'm vulnerable, others might hurt me, this is dangerous, and I’m useless and unlovable". The mind will work to make any contrary information, fit with those beliefs.