Love Thursday: Reality is Nine-Tenths Perception

In their political beliefs, their religious convictions, their personalities, their lifestyles; my best friends are a beautifully varied group. From atheist socialists to devout — some might say radical — Christian conservatives; and everywhere in between. Which is exactly why I love them. Because they are varied and so are their perspectives on the world. There are few things I love more than sitting at a table over a good meal and listening to one or another of them expounding on their beliefs. There are few things more satisfying than a person who is so comfortable in their Self and in their relationship with you that they will answer any question, explain any given position.

This same diversity is the reason I love attending events like BlogHer, where the sharing of ideas is encouraged and valued. I find so many very diverse women sharing their thoughts about everything from the conference food to the topics discussed incredibly interesting. I love being reminded of the way our perceptions shape our reality.

On the first day of the conference I waited while my roommates, Shannon and Kendra, used the women’s restroom just outside the main ballroom, where all the keynotes were given and the meals served. Standing there I watched as many of the conference attendees were ushered in for lunch. There was one wide alley set up for entrance to the area and in front of it stood a man — a hilton employee, I assume. Every few minutes he would step just to the side and let a small group of women in, much like a bouncer letting people into an exclusive club at capacity.

When Shannon, Kendra and I made our way into the lunch area Shannon made a comment that made me laugh. I don’t remember her exact words, but in a nutshell she admired aloud the way they were handling the crowd. I laughed because as I had watched just moments earlier I had stood there and grumbled to my authority-issue-ridden self, because I’ll be damned if I will ever approve of shepherding humans about like cattle. Especially when I am one of those humans. And here a woman I adore and admire was loving it.

And then I got home — we all got home — and slowly accounts of the BlogHer experience started cropping up around the blogosphere. There were people who loved the sessions, people who didn’t; people who loved the food, and those who felt it was lacking; there were accounts of moments during the conference that I, too, found notable but that were archived in a way that was completely opposite to the way my own mind had preserved them.

There were — there are — daily reminders of the inherent beauty in the diversity of our perceptions, our realities. And, that, I love.

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Today’s photo is from the archives, taken in the early spring of 2010.

Tagged as: blogher, BlogHer '10, Differences, Diversity, Perceptions, Reality