Featured Writing
Welcome to the Broaden Our Perspective Project
(Editor’s Note from The Transylvania Times: The following is the first of several guest columns by writers and community leaders encouraging residents to “Broaden Our Perspectives.”)
By Dorothy Trotter
“Tell me a story.”
At a very early age, we discover the power and pleasure inherent in stories and storytelling. I’m not sure why we sometimes lose sight of the value of sharing stories when we become adults. We tend to convey our world view through opinions and carefully selected facts that support them. Rather than helping us understand
one another, that drives us farther apart.
Instead of trading opinions, what if we shared the personal stories behind our view of the world – stories that illustrate how our perspective has been shaped over the years? Perhaps reflecting on our own stories and sharing stories with others would help us better understand our differences and recognize all that we have in
common.
Why does perspective matter? Our vantage point impacts how we perceive our world. For example, I may see one side of a tree and decide it looks healthy and thriving. Someone looking at the other side might notice damage to the trunk that could shorten the tree’s life. Our unique vantage point provides useful information but
may not give us the complete picture.
Our perspective is rooted in our background and experiences, and it can be broadened due to new relationships, new experiences and new stories.
For example, growing up in Charlotte, I learned to dislike squirrels. They ate the figs growing in our garden. They stole bird seed intended for cardinals and chickadees. They were pests.
Then, I came to Brevard and fell madly in love with the adorable white squirrels that seem so different from those annoying gray squirrels in Charlotte. My perspective shifted – I am now very fond of some squirrels.
Our perspective also leads us to make assumptions about each other, often with very little information.
Once, when traveling through a rural area, I stopped for gas and a soda. The only other person in the convenience store was the young man at the register. He was probably half my age, with tattoos and piercings. I probably looked very uncool to him. I sensed that he stiffened a bit when I entered
the store. I felt a bit uncomfortable as well. When I reached the register, I made eye contact and smiled as I handed him my cash. He smiled back. We both relaxed. For a moment, we had looked past our different perspectives and saw each other as fellow humans. I wish I had more moments like that.
As a task-oriented person, I can find myself feeling frustrated with people who do not appear to be “on task.” The driver eating pizza who makes everyone miss the green light; the shopper on her phone who blocks the grocery aisle; the customer at Starbucks who wants the barista to describe
seemingly every drink that they offer – these all strike me as people who are choosing to be inconsiderate of others.
The reality of those individuals’ situations may be far different than my perspective leads me to conclude. The shopper on the phone may be talking to her child’s teacher about a problem. The pizza eater may have spent many food-less hours in the hospital with a sick friend. The customer at Starbucks may be trying to please a
difficult boss by ordering the correct drink based on a vague description. If I heard their stories, my perspective might shift.
Other people’s stories can transport us to places and situations outside our realm of experience. In their stories, we may discover views of the world that allow our perspective to become richer and more nuanced.
What if, as a community, we decided to know each other better through stories? What would it be like to contemplate and share our personal stories and encourage others to share their stories with us? What might we discover about our neighbors and ourselves?
That’s the idea behind the Broaden Our Perspective project. The hope is that our community can grow in empathy and respect for one another. We will still disagree, but we can have a better understanding and appreciation of the reasons why we see the world differently.
© 2019 Dorothy W. Trotter
