Some people see the world through rose colored glasses. Some see the world through lenses that are tinted grey. They are equally right about the colors of the world.
What helps you to take off your tinted glasses so that you can see the world through someone else’s eyes?
What helps me is just what I teach my trainees and clients to do: take a step back, a deep breath, and ask the other person open questions. Listen to understand, not to react.
These days, I find that a reality check received in an e mail is often the reason to consider a different viewpoint about the social conditions in our country. Receiving a forwarded web site that opens up a whole new perspective gives me the sometimes unhappy realization that there is another side which I haven’t considered or don’t want to consider. It makes me see something so then I can decide to agree, disagree, or “think about it.”