From End To End

"Because I just can't believe the way that this continues to go on.
I say I wish you didn't always think I'm wrong.
So tell me,
Tell me what will it take to get this through your head.
Tell me what will it take until you see things through from end to end."

- Relient K

If it seems that Relient K is the source of every single musical reference I make, you may be right.  I must say their lyrics are usually pretty spot-on and cause me to think quite deeply. 

Anyway, we tend to value our own opinions more than any other.  I'm not saying that this is a hard and fast rule, but it's certainly a tendency.  Because of this, we seem to think that the way we approach things should be the way others should approach them as well.  We're constantly streaming out some new form of advice, whether it be recommending a class to take because the teacher treated us nicely, suggesting a meal at a restaurant, or encouraging others to look at issues through our personal lens.  This is not always a bad thing, since most of the time we just want others to learn from our mistakes, capitalize on our experiences, or gain additional knowledge.  I'm pretty sure that most of the time we share our advice/opinions with the purest of intentions.  Unfortunately, we are not the ones who receive our own advice.

Since each person supposedly has total freewill in his/her life, each person has the freedom to accept or deny any advice that is given.  If I see a situation a certain way and had a personal set of experiences in regards to this situation, it doesn't always mean someone else will see the same situation the same way that I do.  I could see something one way, and you may see it completely differently.

Look back at that lyrical excerpt for a moment.  I've been thinking about those words for a while.  There are going to be circumstances in life in which we do things and fully understand the reasons behind them...but another person will see it completely differently.  We may constantly try and explain our side of the story, hoping that it will finally click and everything will be all right.  We know how things went, and just need to share that story.  But the reality is that the other person is thinking the exact same thing.  And to them, we are the clown who is refusing to listen, who is letting our own opinions and prejudgments get in the way of truly understanding.  When this happens, we reach an impasse whereby both people refuse to budge and stand by their opinions.  I could repeat it until I'm blue in the face - "If only you'd see things my way, from end to end" - and you could scream the same thing back.  It doesn't get us anywhere.  Anywhere positive that is...

I think in my attempt to be profound I lost a little bit of clarity.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that we can't hold fast to our opinions and our opinions alone.  The song is talking about the frustrations that mount when someone doesn't listen to the truth that we know in our hearts.  But it's a personal account.  It doesn't take into consideration the same feelings that the other person is having.  Just because we're convinced that we're right, that our friends believe that we're right, that society thinks we're right, doesn't mean we're right.

I guess I don't know what I'm saying other than oftentimes I feel like the victim in situations like this.  I don't feel like my side is heard properly, that my words get misconstrued, that my version of the truth becomes muddled.  But it's a two-way street.  It needs to be at least.  To get we need to give.   It's the simplest of precepts and yet so difficult to follow through on.