Blog entry for:

clueless to why the world is the way it is, BUT, just for today, i can move beyond my need to understand, explain and collate all the information i receive into a coherent whole. looking at the way things are, in my household, in my workplace, in my country and in the world in general, it is quite easy, for me to pick and choose the **facts** that fit my preconceived notions about how things work and ignore all other inputs. yes, there is a name for this and it is called confirmation bias. in my mind, i like to think i am immune to this seemingly **Neo-conservative** affliction and tout myself as better than that. yes i would like to do so, but as i examine my current situation, especially in my household, i uncover that no matter how hard our “guest” tries to be a part of our lives and come out of the fog of their self-involvement, i always see it as manipulative, dishonest or based on ulterior motives.
moving on to what i am hearing my peers share, on my daily forays into virtual meetings, i see that same bias in play. if i expect someone to share a string of bumper stickers, clichés and slogans, that is what i hear, bolstering the bias that already exists. when one of my “yippy-skippy” peers starts to share what i “expect” to, i may miss their cry for help, because i have already tuned-out. i hear what i expect to hear, and give the benefit of the doubt, to those peers, who share what i judge to be “genuine” and recovery based, when they fall out of their normal pattern.
at work, the teammate that was let go, was a person who could not “get” the nature of what we do, and struggled to pick up the ins and outs of the technology stack we use. even when he had done his research and come up with the correct answer, i would cynically double check his work and uncover whether or not he was correct, “for once.” as upsetting as it was to have an instant termination on my team, there was certainly a part of me, that was glad that i no longer had to “baby-sit.”
i could pull further and further back, all the way up to my national government and the elected officials i finds odious, ignorant and self-serving. when i look at that level i find the same bias applies. i choose the facts that fit my narrative and discard all others. unfortunately, on this level, i may actually be more correct in what i feel and as the pandemic, with all its restrictions unfolds, that story get reinforced with extreme prejudice, no matter how “objective” i try to be.
where is my personal power in all of this? well, this addict can begin on the base level and start in my home and my local fellowship. just for today, i might allow myself the opportunity to give more than a few breaks to those around me. on that note, i think i will take advantage of the break in the snow, to get my steps and workout done,m before i lack that opportunity.

∞ DT ∞