Going Gray
September 29, 2024: On my last birthday, I marked off 66 years. Over the course of human history, I have enjoyed a significantly longer life than most people who were ever born. I do not take this cold fact for granted.
“Going gray” has become a way to navigate the complexities of life. It’s better sometimes to embrace the ambiguity and nuance in relationships, ethical issues, and decision-making situations instead of sticking to a rigid black-and-white way of thinking. This opens the mind to different interpretations and allows for a greater sense of empathy and adaptability.
So, how does one navigate the gray while staying true to their core values and beliefs? I’ve made it a priority to clearly identify my personal values. I can summarize mine by stating that a foundation of agnostic Stoicism generally guides my thoughts and navigates me through challenging situations. To the best of my ability, I try to be rational and apply critical thinking when evaluating new information, different perspectives and remind myself that many issues exist on a spectrum rather than simply being right or wrong.
Conversations with people with very different viewpoints can be enlightening and sometimes challenging. In these situations, I make a conscious effort to listen more and talk less so I can better understand their perspective and adjust my views when necessary.
Empathy in dealing with other people becomes more instinctive when we dial down a tendency to judge and instead embrace the gray. What follows are deeper connections and a greater appreciation for human complexity and the diversity within our communities.
As the esteemed physicist Richard Feynman once remarked, “I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong.”