WELLNESS

Does the phrase “objective reality” have a meaning we can comprehend? To be objective, you must not be influenced by personal feelings or opinions. To observe reality requires an individual. At one level, your experience is processed and observed by you. By nature, you will have feelings and opinions about what you experience. On another level, there is a reality that exists that is available for observation, but can you ever actually view what is actually there? If you have ever wondered how so many differing understandings and interpretations of what is “real” can exist, consider views that differ from your own as the story of another person’s reality.

If we assume that we all share one world, and there is a common reality to observe, how can we end up telling vastly differing stories about one “object”? This comes down to the perspective we have on what we are observing. For a moment, let’s set the idea of what is “true” aside, and consider our own perspective as a story. This is a tale that we tell, both to ourselves and to those around us, about our perception of the world as we observe it.

This story we tell describes what we experience through our senses - what we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel - as well as emotions surrounding this experience. The raw data that we observe is processed and refined into an internal experience. We then take this internal experience, and process it through the filter of language to develop a story that best represents this experience to ourselves. This can be one source of miscommunication - the language we use to tell the story holds a specific meaning, but when shared with another person, those words we use may have another meaning to the listener. When the listener assigns meaning to your words, it is easy to miss the meanings of the words that you’ve used. The process transmutes your original meaning into a possibly inaccurate understanding.

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For ideas and perspectives that seem far from our own, it can take significant energy to come to an understanding. Part of the energy expenditure comes from moving away from the innate reaction of disagreement and polarizing yourself against the opposing viewpoint. Our initial reaction to an opposing viewpoint is often to move firmly into the position that we hold and stand firm to defend our perspective. This reaction happens unconsciously and it can take significant effort to recognize it and allow yourself to become aware of other perceptions of our shared reality. How much easier would it be if you considered the viewpoints of others as a story for you to explore?

We always live in a reality where there are two sides to every coin. This has been even more apparent in recent times, but regardless, this duality always existed. Consider the fact that even the most high profile philosophers haven’t come up with a definitive definition for reality. Thinking that you have THE story of our shared reality could be an easy way of limiting your own experience and the ability to experience a larger slice of this existence.

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THE [re]CALL PROJECT PODCAST LIONA KIRKPATRICK

ROBERT IANTORNO

Liona Kirkpatrick is this month’s guest on The [re]CALL Project. Born in Walkerton in 1937, she grew up poor on a farm in Vandeleur, and remembers her mom making their clothes and even their shoes by hand. “Watered potatoes” (potatoes, onions and water cooked in a frying pan) was their staple meal, and she recalls her mother in tears because a beef roast had to go to waste, and they didn’t have the money for more meat.

Liona got to school by horse and sleigh in the winter and horse and buggy in the summer. Back in the day, she says that teachers were looked up to and respected - so much so that when Liona got The Strap (for copying something off of the blackboard incorrectly 3 times), she got the strap again at home for the dishonour.

When World War 2 broke out, Liona and the local children picked milkweeds in exchange for Victory Bonds to support the war effort (milkweed fibres were used for life vests), and her father was thankfully saved from conscription because he was a farmer. She remembers food rations at grocery stores because of the war, and being terrified by stories published in the newspaper.

Liona shares her memories of the great FT Hill store in Markdale, and of customs long since disappeared; like wedding showers to which ladies in attendance would wear their wedding dresses.

Listen to Liona’s life story and others on The [re]CALL Project.

Robert Iantorno Host - The [re]CALL Project Podcast

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