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February 21, 2005
Seeing the good in others
Jim called me an unflappable optimist, which I am; I see the good in others. I see and recognize Jim’s contribution to our environment and the promotion of a healthier physical lifestyle. Exercise and cleaner air are both win-win situations for every one of us. I know that talk is cheap and doing what Jim is doing day in and day out, in our society is not easy. Some days it’s 30 degrees, some it’s –20 degrees, and whether he feels up to it or not, he’s out there riding his bike saving the planet with his actions not just words. And I know from experience that people around us often think of it as crazy. But it's a little understood form of sanity. haha.
Today I rode my bike home from Downtown St. Paul and I had a chill that I just couldn’t shake all day. As I was riding up the hill, I remember thinking that I was really looking forward to getting home and throwing a blanket around myself and getting warm. I did that and ended up napping for an hour. It felt really good. This illustrates a point that doing a good thing is not always easy and often requires us to go way beyond our comfort zone. My comfort zone is getting stretched all the time, and so is Jim’s. Commuting by bike every day even in Minnesota’s weather is only an external sign of the change that is going on inside. Jim discovered that most of it is attitude. Some equipment, but like he’s quick to point out, not having expensive equipment shouldn’t stop us from getting out there and doing it. Old attitudes no longer work for us and our attitudes change and improve. Our old beliefs about how things are, change when they no longer serve us. In a recent post, Jim was talking about some attitudes in small rural towns that he disliked, yet when he was growing up, he probably modeled himself after some of those adults with attitudes like those he described. But that doesn’t mean we have to live with those attitudes when we realize they no longer work and no longer fit who we are.
Another thing I recognize about Jim, is that regardless of what others think, (PC police in particular, haha) he is willing to have a dialog. This is not easy for many people because of insecurities and fear. He is also willing to change his beliefs about something when new evidence or experiences present themselves. Cycling in the winter is one thing even he would not have considered possible before when he had the belief that he needed his car for everything but going to the bathroom. Too often in life we are unwilling to change our beliefs in the name of being right, even if it means killing each other. We have done it throughout history. In the early days of human history we hunted and killed and defended ourselves just to survive. Now days we have laws against doing that to our neighbors and we don’t really fight to survive like we did before. Now our survival seems much more mental. We don’t hunt for our food or raid the neighboring tribe and drag our women back home like barbarians, but we do struggle to determine who we are. We are all trying to find our place and some meaning to our lives. We desire love and recognition. It wasn’t our caveman actions that have changed over the centuries, but our beliefs about who we are and the world we live in because our beliefs create our actions. This is good because we know that we are not predestined to kill each other off. If we can change our attitudes and beliefs toward others and the world around us there is hope.
Posted by carl1236 at February 21, 2005 10:38 PM | Attitude
Comments
Good points John. But you give me way too much credit for saving the environment, etc. I ride mostly because it's fun and good exercise. The environmental stuff is an added bonus. You are correct about the dialogue part though; I LOVE a good discussion.
As for the human dignity thing (i.e. not forming/believing stereotypes), I see your point and I generally agree. I have a number of friends about whom my opinions are 180 degrees different than on the first day we met. Actually, that's not quite true - usually I find that my first impression (stereotype?) is more or less correct (on account of it not being too specific probably), but the person is far more complex and nuanced than my simplistic first appraisal might suggest. Anyway, I still contend that humans are hardwired to make snap judgements about all sorts of things in life, including other people. The input we use to make these judgements is highly variable and based on past experience or attitudes that have never been challenged (e.g. certain "small town attitudes"). My opinion is that the snap judgement/stereotype/generalization is not where the problem lies - the problem comes when we won't change our opinions as new information comes to light. Over time, if one continually finds one's initial judgements to be faulty or misleading, then one's attitudes should change, and, for most people, they do. The classic example is the stereotypical small-town racist who never met a person of the race he despises. If you take that person, and put him in a racially diverse environment and force him to cope with the new surroundings and people, his attitudes are bound to change over time. That's why I say that stereotypes and generalizations that aren't correct cannot persist. Of course, the caveat to that is that the incorrect opinions must be sufficiently challenged.
Anyway, thanks for making me think about this.
Posted by: Jim at February 22, 2005 11:55 AM