The Big Picture

The inevitable difference,
Between ‘the big picture’,
And the reality seen by those within,
Is almost always a matter of perspective lost,
Sometimes willfully,
By those who use that term,
To deny the consequences of actions or policies.

Approximations of a wider reality

The universe is vast and incredibly complex.
We use religions and philosophies,
Approximations of a wider reality,
To reduce it to a manageable shape,
Safer and more comfortable,
For our understanding.
It is all we can do.
But problems come when we deny this to ourselves,
And stop refining our worldview,
Thinking it truly accurate and complete,
As our egos become ever more bound into our perceptions,
And beliefs,
And so we close our minds.
In so doing,
And not admitting to ourselves,
That our perception is distorted by the filter of belief and experience,
We intentionally limit our understanding of the world,
Sabotaging our attempts to interact with it.

Products of Society

We are all products of the society that birthed us.
Something we would do well to remember,
When reflecting on our actions as well as those of the people around us;
Our beliefs and perceptions too.

Cost

For everything there is a cost.
Of action and inaction,
Which path leads to the least harm?
All we can do is decide,
In each moment,
With the information we have at the time,
And have the courage and honesty,
To look past our beliefs and assumptions,
When we do so.

Perspective

Are we special,
Favoured by the universe?
Intricate and amazing,
We shine like the stars,
But, so too, does a cockroach.
Filled with our own self-importance,
We have lost perspective.

Perception

Perception shapes reality and lies can become accepted as truth.
While this is true enough,
As can be seen from the way our leaders frequently seek to twist reality,
The better to suit their purposes.
They spin lies and half-truths which take root in our minds,
And, like the fruit from the poisoned tree,
What follows, all that follows,
Will be weak and sickly,
A fractured reality that is easily broken,
And will eventually fall apart,
Around the weak minds left clinging hopelessly to its shell.

So, learn to see clearly,
Past the inevitable distortions of your own perceptions and those created by others,
And neither turn away from unpleasant truths or ones that contradict what you may believe,
Seeking to spin what is into a more agreeable, but false reality.

Certainty

You may be utterly certain you are not wrong,
But, nevertheless, that possibility does exist.
To pretend otherwise is arrogance,
Stiff and proud.
To admit the possibility of error,
Does not necessarily demonstrate a weakness of faith,
But rather a comfortable strength.

Perspective

We can all see our perspective,
And the way it shapes our perceptions,
Making our experience of the world,
Subtly different from everyone else.
Even so,
When considering the actions of others,
And their impact on those around them,
(Especially ourselves)
It is often something we forget,
Or, worse, willfully disregard.