I don’t believe everything I see or hear from the social or legacy media.
Indeed my first reaction when I see or hear some extraordinary thing is to ask myself: “Could this be actually true?” “Could this actually be for real?”
Now if the particular “extraordinary thing” or event was one of some real import, then my second question be “What if that something or other were to be true?” “How would it affect me, my loved ones, my community (and beyond)?”
If upon doing so, I reckoned that the would-be impact of this “extraordinary” thing / event / news item on myself and those I care most about was potentially significant, then I would investigate the issue further to determine whether what has been reported were true AND then prudently take some precautions just in case it transpired to be so.
The fact is we live in an uncertain world in which there is an untold number of life-threatening situations and life-enriching opportunities upon which WE MUST ACT WELL AHEAD OF RECEIVING CONCLUSIVE INFORMATION confirming or falsifying what is being reported.
In short we have to act upon whether what we have seen or heard is true or false and we are required to do so ahead of conclusive proof, one way or another.
We have to act / react “AS IF” something is True or False, Real or Imaginary and we have to do so without “the benefit of hindsight.”
So much then for what we see and hear over the Old and New Media.
But what about what we see and hear first-hand in the immediate world around us?
Can we believe everything we see with our own eyes?
Can we see and comprehend all that is going on in plain sight, right in front of our very own eyes?
Psychological Research has shown that although some people can see more than others, none of us has the “bandwidth” to process all of the visual cues and messages which we encounter in our daily lives.
Consciously and unconsciously we are, and we have to be, selective in where we apply our attention. Indeed our attention shapes the World around us.
What we see then is what we are looking for, what we are looking at and how we interpret all this, as friend or foe, threat or opportunity, predator or prey.
All of which suggests to me that it is probably more accurate — and certainly more useful— to say “Believing is Seeing” rather than
“Seeing is Believing.”
Just Sayin’!
Until next Thursday, in friendship,
God bless,
George K
Restore God’s Kingdom
www.restoregodskingdom.ie
@rgkintnl
PS. Have a look at this short clip on selective attention: