It’s part of the business of life to assess the worth of others – as potential friend, lover, employee, or whatever. We do it to some extent every time we meet somebody new; and I think we all do it using a combination of instinct and pragmatic observation, although some of us are heavily inclined one way or the other.
I’m extremely fussy about the people with whom I choose to associate, and I rely heavily on instinct. I’ve found that if you have a well honed instinct, you generally get to the essence of a person far quicker and more accurately that way. But not always. The person inclined towards instinct is more prone, I think, to seeing what they want to see rather than what’s actually there. Fortunately it doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. And when it does you find yourself perceiving a chimera. So then it’s time to review the evidence with reason and see how much of a match you get.
Somebody once said to me ‘Please don’t tell me you were wrong in all those things you said about me.’ Well, I wasn’t wrong; I was just choosing instinctively to ignore half the picture. So I wasn’t perceiving a chimera in that case I suppose, just two very different people occupying the same body. Rose coloured spectacles? Blinkered vision? Call it what you want.
Time to see whether my ailing car will get me to the town and back now.
4 comments:
oh wow i had no idea you even owned one of those wheeled monstrosities...meanwhile I was fantasizing on zipping around town and picking up groceries in a flash red vespa :)
not heard that word chimera in ages -it's a great word!
p.s i am honoured to make it into your elite cull, lol
Oh dear, Zhen dear. Does the fact that I drive a wheeled monstrosity cause me to not so much slip as plummet down your acceptability rating? Actually, I don't own it. I borrow it by way of payment in kind.
But of course you make the cut. A mad woman with high standards? What more could a gentleman of discernment desire? I've told you - I've got you on the list of worthy pursuits for two lives on. That's planning, that is.
What about people who rely on instinct they don't have? Things like that make the world a very depressing place sometimes. No, pretty much all the time. (just not always to the same people.)
Do I detect a note of bitterness, Maria? I did say 'those who have a well honed instinct.' I find it works best for me at least nine times out of ten.
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