#253 Others' Behavior - Compared to Our Past Behavior

     It's interesting, challenging, and humblingly disturbing to notice others' inappropriate behavior, only to realize that our own was VERY similar not so many years ago - and still remains under duress. Are we individuals not somewhat like the white blood cells circulating in the bloodstream of a multicellular organism? We're here briefly. We have individual strengths & weaknesses - a job to do, and areas in which we need help. Yet our identity is really that of the whole organism - the universe (the common good).

      "an emerging consensus suggests that three important dimensions of wisdom involve recognizing that the world is in flux and the future is likely to change, recognizing that there are limits associated with one’s own knowledge, and possessing a prosocial orientation that promotes the 'common good.'
      A common feature of these different dimensions of wisdom is that they require people to transcend their egocentric viewpoints to take the 'big picture' into account and reason holistically."
        Kross E, Grossmann I. Boosting wisdom: Distance from the self enhances wise reasoning, attitudes, and behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 2012; 141(1): 43-48.

 

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, Dec 27, 2012