My grandmother used to say that you can never believe what you hear, and only about half of what you see. This has proven to be true. I never believe what I hear, and while I can believe what I see in front of me, I can never assume to know. What I walk away with is what I perceive. It is becoming very apparent to me how much residual impact the way I choose to percieve things will have in all aspects of my life.
Perceptions have consequences, always. They can impart meaning, and influence decisions. Courage can be provoked, fear exposed, and wisdom simulated. We are continually given a choice about the way we perceive things, and yet we condition ourselves in a way that fools us into believing there is only ONE way to see things. I think that in failing to see that EVERYTHING is universally multifaceted, we assassinate our innate behavior of being inquisitive, and trade it for indifference and dismissal. It is the root of vast social discord in this country, and the rest of the world..and it's a choice. Life, and people are not, and will never be so facile.
There is never any one right person or thought or belief when you take the time to ponder something twice. What you thought were straight lines on a marked path become labyrinthine, and although you run the risk of getting lost, you also reap the reward of finding your own way out.
A big part of my personal growth in the last few years has been realization that nothing is indubitable.
Question everything.