I believe the world is going to experience a change in how people are judged. The downtrodden will stand firm, the misshapen will be called beautiful, the voiceless will be heard, ones who have never been given a chance before will prove they have something worth giving.
When we see someone who seems to be different do we still see their potential? In the 1950s a woman, call her Jane Smith, won the Tasmanian Beauty Quest Pageant. In the finalists' group photo she stood out from the crowd in a marked way, with a timeless poise and confidence. She would have been considered beautiful today in the changed world we live in.
It was such a strange experience seeing how different from the others she looked, and I realised that the way society judges beauty has changed. Another way this all could be translated is perception; the assumptions we make that are not based on fact. Jane Smith is perhaps an example of a Black Swan event. People once did not know that Black Swans existed, and were taken by surprise when they were discovered. Perhaps hidden talents where one least expects them to be may be the next big Black Swan event; leading to poor and disabled people being allowed to free their talents as a right, not a privilege, for the first time. At the very least we should not judge others by their exterior and circumstance.
It was such a strange experience seeing how different from the others she looked, and I realised that the way society judges beauty has changed. Another way this all could be translated is perception; the assumptions we make that are not based on fact. Jane Smith is perhaps an example of a Black Swan event. People once did not know that Black Swans existed, and were taken by surprise when they were discovered. Perhaps hidden talents where one least expects them to be may be the next big Black Swan event; leading to poor and disabled people being allowed to free their talents as a right, not a privilege, for the first time. At the very least we should not judge others by their exterior and circumstance.
Talent may be hidden never to be used because people will not give some with the most talent a chance. Some do not make it to the starting blocks to even run the race. Take the case of a young boy called Bradley Harris Wolf; he was paralysed by his exterior, chained in a body captive by cerebral palsy, and he couldn't walk or talk. Until at the age of 13 he sat in front of a computer and started typing, eventually to write his own autobiography and leave a lasting legacy. If he hadn't had that chance he would have died mute 7 years later. How many more Bradleys are we not even seeing?
Often people who are discounted are given labels, and people sometimes change the way they behave depending on labels they are given. Our own potential may be limited due to the labels we use for ourselves. Invisible labels stick. I once took part in a role-play where the person sitting in the middle of a group had to wear a label saying "ignore". He never saw the label, but he soon kept quiet after countless tries at conversation that was ignored. Imagine if if our labels for others said "respect", "love", honour", "listen to"?
Perception plays a huge role in society today. This is especially visible when judging others based on first impression, as.it can actually take months, sometimes even years, to really get to know someone's heart and mind. Paul said about himself in 2 Corinthians (World English Bible): "10 For, "His letters," they say, "are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised." 11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such are we also in deed when we are present." Paul, greatly admired today, experienced negative judgment about his personal appearance and manner of speaking yet left a lasting legacy, as he wrote large parts of the New Testament. Another lesson to be learnt from Paul's example is to value people's strengths and overlook their weaknesses. A second example heard in church is that when the Bride of Christ is ready, she will be beautiful, pristine. Why? The Bible says, 1 Samuel 16:7 (World English Bible): "But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for [Yahweh sees] not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." " The danger of judging on first impressions.
Often people who are discounted are given labels, and people sometimes change the way they behave depending on labels they are given. Our own potential may be limited due to the labels we use for ourselves. Invisible labels stick. I once took part in a role-play where the person sitting in the middle of a group had to wear a label saying "ignore". He never saw the label, but he soon kept quiet after countless tries at conversation that was ignored. Imagine if if our labels for others said "respect", "love", honour", "listen to"?
Perception plays a huge role in society today. This is especially visible when judging others based on first impression, as.it can actually take months, sometimes even years, to really get to know someone's heart and mind. Paul said about himself in 2 Corinthians (World English Bible): "10 For, "His letters," they say, "are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised." 11 Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such are we also in deed when we are present." Paul, greatly admired today, experienced negative judgment about his personal appearance and manner of speaking yet left a lasting legacy, as he wrote large parts of the New Testament. Another lesson to be learnt from Paul's example is to value people's strengths and overlook their weaknesses. A second example heard in church is that when the Bride of Christ is ready, she will be beautiful, pristine. Why? The Bible says, 1 Samuel 16:7 (World English Bible): "But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Don't look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him: for [Yahweh sees] not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." " The danger of judging on first impressions.
Everyone in the world has something to give, if "society" will allow us all to use our gifts!
Totally agree!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike :)
ReplyDelete