Have you ever thought about how many viewpoints there are about one subject? There are over 5 billion people in the world today and that number grows by the hundreds every second. From childhood we are taught that each person is unique and has a unique personality and appearance. So how many perceptions can there be of one idea, emotion, object, or being? Answer: Over 5 billion.

I know that most of the world's population will agree that the sky is blue. But does every single person see the same shade of blue? Do all of us perceive the exact same object, the sky, the exact same way? Doctors have said that the retina (the veins in the eye) are as unique, if not more so, than the fingerprint. And not everyone has the same visual accuity and ability (i.e. 20/20) as everyone else. So, how do we know that the positioning of the retina and all of the other complex factors involved in human vision do not affect "visible perception"? We don't. Each person perceives the exact same object, but slightly differently. Even if the difference is 0.0000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% from the closest comparison, there is still a difference.

What about things like emotions? Does everyone perceive fear the same way? What about happiness? lonliness? contentment? love? No. The situation in which they are perceived are always different and that plays the largest part in teh mental interpretation of the emotion. And because every single mind and personality are unique, the perceptions of emotions are just as unique. The expressed emotion or reaction may be similar, but never identical. Poetry is a prime example.¹ Many poets write in an abstract fashion. They will cover their emiotions with nouns, adjectives and abstract objects seeming to have no connection with the focus of the poem. But one reader's interpretation is NEVER the same as another reader. From Edgar Allen Poe's works, many people will feel a sense of depression and morbidity, but the degree of those perceptions will differ. Our language and methods of expression are not precise enough to convey any perception or reaction clearly enough to be truly comparable.

So if we can accept the fact that no one is the exact same as anyone else, and that each being has a unique thought process and ability to perceive, then we will have taken a large step towards a "Nirvana-like" existence.

¹ For an abstract poetry site, go to this site.

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