![The media file [Christian] is by CallahanFreet.](/artists/christian/christian_head_hu5cef231d8f4180b7a037182f38f41a4e_11594_800x0_resize_q82_h1_box_2.webp)
With our modern access to easy information, misunderstandings are generally intentional. Nowadays they are simply a reflection of values, a demonstration of trade-offs prioritizing amusement over depth.
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Our often unfamiliar values have strained some relationships; it still isn't clear to me why we can evoke such mistaken intent. But at this point, does the misinterpretation really matter? And is a discussion worth the time? Because usually the outcome is the same regardless of the approach, and I risk losing focus simply by bothering with it.
Reaching this conclusion itself is a judgment. It acknowledges the difference between intent and the passive methods by which most of us live.
How do you know which life you lead?
Rest assured we all start without self-awareness — you know that haphazard, common path we all take, feeling as if others did not; wondering whether or not our decisions are optimal or even good, or even worth the effort; sometimes regretting the past, often misunderstanding the point of what we see in front of us because we choose to ignore obvious signs and continue the path our ego refuses to reverse. These are the kinds of things we do through living by social cues and assuming the thought is wasted in deciding values for one’s self.
But there is a penalty for attachment without self-discovery. Missing the point that all things are connected — at least by metaphor — is most definitely a choice, and we must remember our culture has its own values to impose if we choose not to define our own.