Different

Episode #694

May 21, 2022

i am a different body than i was seven years ago. In fact, some of my cells (such as stomach lining cells) are replaced every five days.

Some of my cells have never been replaced. i have had the same neurons in my cerebral cortex since i was born.

i am the same because my memories, thought, language, attention and consciousness cells are always with me.
i am different because i am not the same physical presence.
i also differ as my neurons die and my memories fade.

Everyone else is different because no one has the same combination of programmed neurons as i do. And no one has the same programming as anyone else. Also, they don’t even look like me.

Everyone is unique with their own unique ideas.
So who is right?

Everyone is correct and no one is right.

We invent our reality every moment based on what we think is real.
We hallucinate what we imagine we remember.
And everyone imagines differently.

The differences are what allow us to fit together.
Men and women, while from Mars and Venus, complement each other.
i figure out adventures to explore. My wife keeps us alive.

We also compliment each other:

“Your landscape design is beautiful.”
“Your execution of it was excellent.”
Compliments are good for our egos. They blend our differences.

If someone closes a door you might consider opening it.
But knock first. You can never know what space they need.

Personal physical space is important because it provides a buffer wherein commonalities can be found. Being in the same space is too intimate for some. Our differences can repel. Social networks put us in very close contact with each other’s thoughts, but may dissolve the buffer between our minds.

Why is it that we are polite and respectful when face to face, but taunting and intrusive when typing online. 

The buffer can work against us. It is rare to yell at someone face to face, but dangerously common from one car on the freeway to another. Separation exaggerates our differences.

Welcome others into your physical space to share yourself and your thoughts with them.

“Sister Suzie, brother John
Martin Luther, Phil and Don
Uncle Ernie, auntie Gin
Open the door and let ’em in, yeah”
— Paul McCartney

People that you know do not have to knock on your door, but do so out of respect for your space and to preserve your differences.

Let ‘em in.