What is happening on the inside of us affects our perception of what is happening on the outside of us. What we are feeling inside (physically, mentally, emotionally) affects our perception of what is happening outside of us.
This is something that I have been aware of for a long time and I try to accommodate for it. The biggest issue I have is when my blood sugar drops, I become annoyed very easily. (“Hangry” is a real thing for some of us.) I try to recognize what is happening inside of me (low blood sugar) and take steps to correct it (eat something).
Another common issue for me is when I am tired, even the simplest things can seem overwhelming. What I try to do in those cases is to take a few deep breaths and try to view the situation from a logical perspective. (It helps sometimes to try to channel my inner Spock.)
Sometimes these issues are short, isolated events. Sometimes, though, they are longer-lasting, such as during an illness or long periods of stress. Then it can be more difficult to manage.
Not only can it be difficult to manage at the time, but it can affect our perception of an event for a long time, or perhaps forever, if we are not aware of it and if we do not try to do something about it.
For example, my husband and I recently returned from a vacation in Iceland. We took a small group tour around most of the perimeter of the country. My feelings about the trip during the trip itself and after getting home was that it was good. It wasn’t the greatest trip ever, but it was good and I was glad we did it.
What I didn’t realize during the trip and for several days after I was home was that I was battling a cold. The symptoms were mild, and could be confused with allergies, but the cold really zapped my energy. After I got over the cold at home, and was looking back at the pictures we took, I realized it was really an awesome vacation! We saw some unbelievable sights including phenomenal northern lights, whales, seals, waterfalls, mountains, beaches and we did some great activities, including hiking on a glacier.
What was going on inside of me (battling an infection and being really tired) negatively affected my perception of what was going on outside of me (the quality of our vacation).
The important thing to remember is that however we are perceiving the world around us, our perception might not be accurate. It could very well be shadowed by what is going on within us. And our memories of what we experienced can also be affected by what we felt at the time. It’s worth keeping this in mind.
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