Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Life Unlimited

FAKE NEWS HOW?
Miracle of connections made as we bumped across the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn  .  .  .

Where does fake news come from? Ideas on radio talk shows? CNN? BBC? Friends, family? The public media makes the choice for us of news topics. The media then dictates a perspective. Therefore listeners receive an opinion which describes topics that are news worthy and which way to interpret this news.

News and perspectives can come from books. Books are written by scholars who do research for years by reading other scholars. People who write books may also receive ideas by discussing their research with their colleagues. Some opinions may come from their own informed activities.
Listening to one medium or reading one book may produce some very one-sided opinions. Conclusions void of the reality that these ideas could possibly be partial or ill-formed or fake.

Where do we get ideas about ourselves? Sometimes we might have ideas about ourselves based on partial information. Psychologists describe our relationships with others as a circle of thirds.
v knowing the self as others know you
v knowing the self that others do not know
v not knowing the self that others know

I notice that there is an unknown self in relationship to others because occasionally I have stupid ideas. Occasionally my behavior is irrational. I ask myself did I say that? Others ask why did I do that? The comment or behavior (seemingly) came out of no where, out of proportion. The information that I have about myself maybe like the news on TV; a limited number of topics and a one-sided perspective.
Perhaps this behavior in relationship to others was a new and unique situation. A conversation with no historical reference, no prior hearing, no preparedness. So the response seems to come from nowhere. What is required to handle this altercation is the question. It may require a verbal skill, an emotional awareness, or a personality trait. It certainly may not come naturally.

Neither does the performance of jazz piano. To perform the style of "swing" will require a myriad of perspectives. Eighth notes with bars or brackets or flags? The scholar will emerge .  .  . to read, to listen, to write, to feel, to practice. Unlimited by family history or regional proclivitIes my emotional energy is expressed. I may get to know myself.