in another thread you wrote about stepping out of oneself, "....out of step with most people."
I thought those were good words to show an experience I had recently.
Now I often feel "out of step" with most people because of who/how I am.
But, this recent thing was more....different.
I was in a store and this hearing woman recognized me from a coffee shop where she works. We talked briefly and as usual I kept my eyes on her face. She walked away when I was still watching her, turning her back and kept talking. It was then that I felt a consciousness shift...like wait - whoa, I'm still watching you! I was watching her back. I saw myself watching me, the "me" watching her ....I felt like I was in one bubble and she was in another and we bounced together but we were just bouncing off each other and the bubbles created this distortion. It was hyper-aware sense that was different. I don't know - hard for words.
It has always been my nature to step outside myself to take the perspective of another. My father worked hard to teach the wisdom of that skill. My mother, being bi-racial, also had an influence on my tendency to do that in all situation.
Having a Deaf son, as well as my chosen profession, has expanded on that natural tendency. But rather than my profession or my son being responsible for being able to take a different perspective, I think that my natural tendency to do so influenced my choice of profession, and my desire, early on, to take the Deaf perspective in making decision regarding my son.
I tend to be a bit out of step with the majority in most cases. However, if you take all of the minority perspectives that are floating around inside me, and put them together, we actually form the majority!
sally lou,
