“It makes me unable to see any point of view but my own.” (ODAT, 8 November)
What does seeing things from my point of view mean?
Usually: being concerned only with those things that affect me and how they affect me.
More distantly: being concerned with matters that jar with ‘my’ values.
Even more distantly: becoming caught up in some ‘cause’, a political controversy, a war, an injustice.
It looks like I’m concerned with others, but I’m really concerned with myself.
I’m caught up because it’s resonating with some unresolved grievance of my own.
The grievance then gets played out on the proxy battlefield of another’s troubles.
The solution: stand back; detach.
Then I can start to see things from all points of view.