Perception
from where I am, I perceive
from my perceptions, I conclude
from these conclusions, I understand
from what I’ve understood, I encounter
through encounter, I believe.
Yet this that I perceive:
Is not me
Existed before my seeing
Is More than my conclusions
Greater than what I understand
Deeper than my encounter
And exceeds what I believe.
What I perceive is, in itself,
Other
By Kelley Mata ©
While this poem may not be very intricate, the idea that our perceptions are limited is one that we need to engender in our communities, our faith communities, our families…in ourselves. Just the honest realization: that an “other” might be looking for much the same thing in life that I am but in a different way…that they are not my enemy but a fellow traveller. These ideas could radically change our polarized culture, our argumentative “my way or the highway” and often violent response to difference and to otherness. This remains my wish, that we could see value in each other, in each others perspectives and in humanity broadly.
Circling Around The Sacred 