Points Of View.

“The frame, the definition, is a type of context. And context, determines the meaning of things. There is no such thing as the view from nowhere, or from everywhere for that matter. Our point of view biases our observation, consciously and unconsciously. You cannot understand the view without the point of view.”
~ Noam Shpancer

getting out of bed

I was not able to sleep late in bed till this winter. My routine from very young days has been to wake up well before sun up but perhaps age is now telling, and I do find myself sleeping till later. Leaving the comfort of the warm bed is getting to be more and more difficult. But get up I must to get the household working the way it should.

Some days I want to get up and go outside and get the groceries, and some days I can’t brush my teeth. Some days I feel I can be a good parent to my son, and some days I just want to stay in bed and sleep.

I am sure that many of my readers will relate to that feeling by just replacing the words parent and son with other words.

So far so good. We all can comfort each other that it is normal to feel this way.

But this statement that I have highlighted above is not an original from me. It is from NELBA MÁRQUEZ-GREENE, whose 6-year-old daughter died in the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut USA.

See how the context changes the whole understanding?

29 thoughts on “Points Of View.”

        1. All I can say is, “Yay, laziness!” I had insomnia for years and my greatest luxury now is getting enough sleep. There’s just the two of us so no big household to run. I suppose if you have servants it’s a different story? That’s one of the great joys of blogging for me–trying to imagine other people’s lives.
          cheerful monk recently posted..Surprises

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    2. No, the words were not mine but the sleeping in late phenomenon is true for me now. Not every day, but on and off I do experience such mornings of laziness.

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  2. there is a picture. you’ve probably heard this before. but i like it.
    a man in front of a cave-like entrance. he is snarling and baring his teeth and holding a spear. he looks mean. and extremely threatening.
    yes. he is. no doubt about it. evil and ugly.
    the camera pans back.
    now we see the entire scene.
    behind him . . . crouching in fear are a woman and a little child.
    in front of him is a huge . . . bigger than the man . . .
    saber toothed tiger.
    evil becomes brave. ugly becomes beautifully noble.
    nothing changed and everything changed.
    our perception.
    i remember that image a lot in daily transactions. interesting.
    it helps.
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  3. It’s interesting that as I read this, I felt that this sounded like a person who was depressed. I thought to myself that this could be someone who was suffering grief. At first I wondered if perhaps you were grieving your father’s death particularly strongly now. Then I finished reading and found out the author. But it’s interesting that I did pick up on the feeling behind what was written.
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    1. At the individual level, that is true. But when as a third party we learn about someone else’s pain, the context has to be very clear before we come to any conclusion.

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  5. Not for the first time, and maybe or not surprisingly, I agree with Grannymar’s robust views.

    What I don’t agree with any of the above notions on sleep. As soon as something plagues me sleep – and appetite – the very things which will escape me. Only when life is good and sound I’ll snatch more than my allocated four hours. Sometimes I think it’s almost as if something is driving me to be always up and about. I know it’s ridiculous and will, no doubt, drive me into an early grave. So good luck to all of you who prefer to turn over just one more time.

    Ramana, your first quote I couldn’t underwrite more. Context, one of the shrines I worship on. The point of view/the angle the other is coming from. As to the harrowing example of that most unfortunate mother you give: So interesting that some of your commentators only see “depression” when, of course, grief (over the dead and/or the living) does have to run its course naturally. All I can say, I am glad that this woman still has a son who needs her to get herself up and out. Otherwise? Well … I have no idea. And I hope I never will.

    U
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