There’s absolute truth and then there’s relative truth. Yes, there’s a difference. There are also opinions… and we all know what those are, right?
I teach my kids to understand that people may have many reasons to support their opinions… but reasons are NOT always supported by facts or logical thinking… some are supported by fears, feelings, or even tradition… e.g. we’ve always believed in this way of thinking. This refers to one’s emotional intelligence or EQ.
So when they are sharing their “opinions”, they need to also understand the analogy of a clock face. They may have a 3 pm opinion… but there’s likely to be another person on the other side of the table/screen/aisle/religion/economic scale/educational background/etc. with a 9 pm opinion. While that person shares his/her 9 pm opinion (i.e. the hour hand)… they may actually even be holding onto a midnight opinion (i.e. minute hand) and a 6 am opinion (i.e. second hand). Fears and feelings can certainly muddy the waters for some.
In short, I want my kids to be cognizant of the difference between absolute and relative truths… and to also be open-minded enough to recognize others’ opinions for what they are… and where they may fall on a clock face.
Until we learn the highest form of emotional intelligence (i.e. empathy), it will be difficult to understand, accept, or even forgive the “opinions” of others.
