Depth Perception

How are you perceived?
Does this matter to you?
Does self perception influence how you and others perceive one another?

These questions stalk us throughout our lives and I merely want to discuss the topic as opposed to drawing conclusions because it is not something I have thought adequately about. So, I ask those who read this to evaluate the topic with me, and to weigh in on the discussion via the comments section.

Life is based on perception, it is one of the solid foundations that never leaves us throughout our journey. Whether it be the perceiving of others, ourselves or the world around us (i.e. that bubble we live in) we constantly are evaluating the constituents of life. The differences in the world can all boil down to the different angles of perception held by the billions of people that inhabit the planet. There is no depth that is without perception.

So how are you perceived? Do people look at you and say
"he's a nice guy, great sense of humour, great with the ladies"/
"She's so hot and really nice too, I'm happy I know her"

or do they say;

"That guy thinks he's slick but he's just a knob, I hope I don't bump into him today"/
"she's caked in makeup and an airhead!"

Is it possible to know know how people really look at you?How people constantly judge you by your actions and reevaluate their thoughts about you? I don't think that it is ever possible to know, truthfully, what people think about you. The reason I think this, is what I will call the lattice of life (patented). It is a totally integrated framework consisting of multiple strands that are interwoven and folded over each other but all connected. People live each day 90% in their mind and 10% in the "real world" and I'm being generous there. If you consciously go through a day paying attention to what you are actually thinking somewhat subconsciously you are in for a series of revelations:
1. I constantly judge peoples actions
2.This causes me to reinforce my prior judgement of them or modify it.
3. Most of the things people say to me I disagree with in some form or another but I never say anything about it.
4. I dictate who I talk to and interact with 99% of the time and therefore I only expose myself to stimuli that I'm familiar with (perceived familiarity).
5. At the end of each day when I reflect on the content, what is it/who is it that I remember and how do I remember it/them?

I cite these five questions because they relate to our everyday interactions and I would be here all night if I were to write the worldly ones! So by my reasoning perception is not static but dynamic. Its ever changing and maybe, we are only truly content and happy with life when that dynamic is in equilibrium. Is this balance dependent on how we are perceived by others or vice versa? I would have to say it is the first of the two. If you feel that you have done something wrong, stupid or felt that somebody didn't like your actions you start to feel uncomfortable. Now, this happens most days as it is almost impossible to sail through a day without offending, annoying or antagonising somebody but it is how we perceive that somebody is the important thing! If we perceive that person as important or integral to a social network (e.g.dublin feudal system) then how they perceive us is quite important. On the other hand if we see that person as unimportant then it is easier to shrug it off and it can almost become humourous to antagonise this person. From this I think its fair to say that how we perceive others and how we are perceived are interwoven almost on a scale. But where does self perception come in then?

Self perception appears to be the rudimentary foundation upon which all other perceptions rest and I will tell you my reasons for this. I perceive myself to be a good guy who can have a laugh and a serious conversation, but I also know that I'm not everyones cup of tea. What I perceive to be funny others will find ignorant and obnoxious. What I perceive to be good and well intentioned others may see as irrelevant and vainglorious. This is just two examples of how I can be perceived by anybody. I choose to think of myself as the good guy with a sense of humour, therefore anybody who thinks otherwise, I don't value as highly and as a result I can be content or satisfied. It is only when somebody I see as important doesn't like something I do that I become uncomfortable and seek to resolve the issue. I'm not going to delve into personalities in this blog but I wish to recognise that they play a vital role in peoples self perception and thus their worldly perception (e.g. somebody who is confident vs somebody who is depressed). It is ultimately how we see ourselves that censors our outside stimuli i.e. everyday activities/ interactions.

Does how people perceive you matter to you?
This question could be hugely debated but, in my opinion, I think that it does matter. Whenever I hear somebody say "I don't care what people think of me" immediately I think that person cares too much about what people think and is completely out of equilibrium and thus discontented. For any who disagree I put this to you;
The fact that you think about an incident means its registered and as a result requires mental evaluation. So in your head you examine what went on, how did I deal with it, how do I feel about this and how did it come across? If you come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter either you have perceived the dilemma as unimportant/unvaluable or you are trying to persuade yourself to think this. Ultimately everything matters, even the unimportant things/ people.

So in conclusion, The world we live in is dominated by our depth perceptions and it is this lattice of life that needs to be at equilibrium for us to live happily ever after. Just something to chew over for you guys.

Furthermore,this leads me to ask is our whole life shaped in our depth perception? Is every decision we make based on our accumulated perception?

These are questions that will require a lot more thought and I'm tired so maybe in the future.

(now you could be thinking, has mark perceived this question to be beyond his thought range and just not admitted it? I didn't like this blog but I like the others so already I've reevaluated Mark and how I perceive him)

I apologise for the amount of times I used the word perception but it was largely unavoidable.

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