Paradigm: Seeing Things From A New Point Of View

Hi everyone, just got back from my college a while ago after stopping by a Starbucks to get something to eat. I feel like I should share something with you guys that has to reflect with the title of this blog. I guess its the more generous side of me showing more often than not, but I hope you will all be willing to listen if you have time. Before I get to that though, I wanna share something a little something else with you guys that'll, hopefully, help explain more what I'm going to share with you all. A little something that took place just last Monday in my statistics class, which eventually led me into making this blog now, along with the facts and examples I wanna share with you based on what this blog is referring to.

Now, as some of you may probably already know, or maybe not know, Paradigm means seeing something form a certain point of view, whether it has to do with your beliefs, perspective, insightfulness, or even just your own mindset. It also means taking in something or listening to it and condensing it and forming it into a way that makes sense to you, registering in your mind in a way that helps you grasp it fully and efficiently. You know, something that your able to figure out and solve, based on how you see or think about it and talk about it to anyone that is willing to listen or shares the same mindset as you. It could be based on how you're brought up, the beliefs that were instilled in you, and what you were taught, and what you were made to believe was truth, even if it may not be the truth at all. You view and think about things in ways that seem right and logical to you, while it may be seen as wrong and illogical to others. In some cases that's true, but in other cases, it's not true at all. Though that depends on what that those people think, even if their own thoughts and beliefs differentiate from one another. You can be right about one thing, and be wrong about another thing. You can be wrong about one thing, and be right about something else. And sometimes, you and that other person can't be completely right, but not be completely wrong too. Though, like I said, that does depend on what it is that is being discussed and how you view certain situations and scenarios, as well as conflicts and relationships that go on continuously like a never ending cycle in day to day life.

You can be led to believe that something is undeniably true, only to find out later on in life just how wrong it really is. A time may come where you think something is wrong, but overtime you may come to realize that it's not so wrong after all. Sometimes, early in life, or later on in life, something can happen to you that, as you grow older, and it happens to you repeatedly, can make you think that it's normal and apart of life. And when you find yourself in a new type of environment with none of that type of stuff happening to you anymore, your eyes will be opened, like someone lifted a veil form them that was in front of your face your whole life. And that veil will finally allow you to see just how messed up that something was and how badly it effected you, be it physically, mentally, emotionally, and physiologically. The severe impact that it had on your mind like a bighorn sheep ramming its horns right into your fragile skull. As well as just what was taken in from you, lots of which you will never be able to truly get back. When that happens, you'll not only be seeing things differently, but thinking things differently as well.

You'll be doing it with a brand new mindset, a new perspective, and a new point of view too and a brand new insight that you didn't think you had before. You'll begin to see things in a way that you never ever saw before. Be it because you were never around it, or were never allowed to be around it or may be because it was just that way for you. Whatever the reason and whatever the cause for that, once you begin to see things from a new point of view, and take them in differently, you're way of thinking will never be the same again. It will be forever be changed into something that you'll find yourself using to explore new depths of everything around you, as well as the people and the creatures in it. Until something else happens that will change your way of thinking again, and bring you back to square one, where you'll be rethinking and retracing everything you thought you knew, but didn't truly know after all. And that, my dear fillies and gentle colts brings us to the topic that I'd like to discuss with you all: the time where my love for animals was just beginning to shine, but hadn't yet truly ignited to what it is today. Gonna warn you guys though, this part of the blog is pretty fucked up...like, as fucked up as it can get. So reader discretion is advised on these next few parts.

When I was little...like really little, around 6-7 years old, I used to be really scared of dogs. Not just big dogs, but any dog in particular, not that I don't think that at least some people here don't have a fear of dogs. During those blissful years of mine, I never really saw a dog up close in the neighborhood I used to live in, which was all the way back in Florida. I only saw the on television, and from there, my six year old self felt safe, because what I learned form dogs at that age was...well, not so good to say the least. Only the bad things that made me think that dogs were nothing more than bloodthirsty beasts that were out to get you. At the time, I didn't see anything about them that was good, and I wanted to stay as far away from them as possible. One day, while I was staying with my Aunt and Uncle back in Florida, I was with my Uncle Cleve (I'm only saying his name because he is more than likely in jail right now) over at a friend's house in one of the more shady neighborhoods back at Gainesville Florida. This memory is a bit of a blur as it was around 12-13 years ago, but there is one part of the memory that I do remember quite vividly. One that, looking back, still kind of scares me, but I understand more more from my new perspective to this day.

Some point when I was hanging around with my Uncle's friends, I happen to see three dogs behind the fence of one of my Uncle's houses, all of them in chains and barking like mad. Needless to say, I was pretty scared, but not quite enough to feel like my life was in danger, since the dogs were behind the fence and all. That came to a screeching halt when my Uncle Cleve decided to pull a prank on me that, to this day, I am still pissed at him for doing, to the point where I wanna deck in him in the face now. When he saw me looking at the dogs, my Uncle Cleve asked me if I wanted to go over the fence and pet the barking and snarling canines. Obviously, I told him no, and kept telling him that after he kept asking, and told him that nothing would make me go anywhere near a group of dogs that look like they could rip my stomach open. This is when shit gets really bad. He went over to me, grabbed me by the back of my shirt, and lifted me in the air, right over the fence that the dogs were on the other side of. I was caught completely off guard, and it was only when I realized he wasn't trying to hoist me over his shoulder did I realize what he was doing. Or at least, what I thought he was going to do, which was drop me right where the dogs were. Needless to say, I was petrified, and for good reason, for as soon as I was in the air, the dogs crowded around each other, barking and snapping their jaws at me while their tails thrashed around like whips. While I didn't know much about dogs back then, even I, in my seven year old mind, knew that they were not looking to lick my face and cover it in slobber or play with me. No, more like sink their teeth into it and turned it into a mush of blood and flesh, along with the rest of my body. I begged and pleaded for my Uncle Cleve to put me down and let me go, and couple of times he almost dropped me inside, but still kept a tight grip on me. Add insult to injury, he was laughing while he was doing it, and obviously taking delight in the fact that he was suspending his nephew over a group of dogs that could easily kill him! It had to be for about a couple of minutes he was doing this, but for me it felt much longer than that, and I was close to crying at that point (I'm surprise I didn't start doing so already). Eventually, he had his fun, and he let me go, but I was nowhere near better after that experience, and, in a way, I'm still not.

Since that day I was even more scared of dogs than I already was, and got extremely nervous if I even saw a dog anywhere around me, even more so if it was near me. Every time I did, I think back to that day, about the terror I felt when six-year-old me was brought face to face with what I thought were terrifying creatures that wanted nothing more than to have me for lunch. It was only when I slowly began to learn more about dogs and other animals in particular, their behavior, and why they acted that way, did I see dogs in a new light. That, and one of the friends my mom used to have had dogs herself, and they helped me, albeit slowly, see that all dogs where big and scary. That some of them were sweet and loving, especially towards little kids like me. It was a little bit of a shaky start, you know with me being so young and thinking dogs were mean for all of my early years, but, as I said before, at some point, my views on them began to change. I began to see the struggles that animals, mainly dogs, go through and what they have to go through by some peopled why their the way they are. The more I began to see and learn about how abusive, neglectful and horrible people can be to who's supposed to be man's best friend, and all animals around them, the more I began to see just how truly victimized and innocent they truly were. How much they depend on us to take care of them, nurture them and shelter them from all that can hurt them, and...well...I never looked at any animal the same way again. I certainly never looked at any dog the same way either, and while I still am sometimes nervous around them, I know that there is at least some reason why some act the way they do. Why not all of them are comfortable around people, even if they do have owners, and, well...why their so precious that so many people fight for them, just like how I'll get to do someday.

Anyway, this is, at least to me, a prime example of why and how people's perspectives on certain things can change if their put in a situation that warrants that change, and brings out that different way of thinking. How it can have such an impact on you that you'll never think of anything or anyone the same way again. It certainly happened to me, and I couldn't be anymore happier about it, especially since it helps me understand animals more than I ever did so long ago when I was so young. If that incident didn't make me love animals then, thinking back on it, especially after what I learned about their history with us certainly made me love them even more than I thought I already did. It really is amazing how some things can make you change your mindset and see what you didn't see in front of you until later on in life; be it the truth, new facts, or anything else. Just one incident or scenario can sometimes be enough to make you throw away what you believed to be true, and leave your mind open for what you found out that you didn't now about before until that very moment. It certainly went that way with me, and helped me open my eyes and think deeper on things instead of either just brushing it off or just forming it into my own conclusion...at least when it comes to animals that is. I'm certainly glad for it, for it helped my love and passion for animals really grow, and I'm pretty sure it's going to grow from here, even more than it already has. And when an indecent comes where I'll be able to learn more about animals behavior, ones never seen before, I'll embrace it gladly, because it'll give me an even bigger window on just what goes on in their minds and why they are what they are.

Thanks for listening and reading everyone, and I apologize for any rambling I may have done.

Comments

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

5213848
Thank you Rivershy, I appreciate the time you took to read this. I agree with you too, what kind of jackass, let alone an uncle, suspends his seven year old nephew over a fence of dogs that are tied to chains?! I'll tell you: an uncle that has nothing better to do than do something so unbelievably sick that he should get a kick to the nuts for it! Granted, this is not the main reason why he's in jail, if that's what your wondering, because he did something to me that was much, much, much more darker. Dark to the point where it would probably make this incident seem relatively minor. Not sure if I'm gonna go into that story someday, but I'll say that it was...well, it was just horrible.

All the dark stuff aside, yeah, I was eventually able to get over my fears of dogs, and now I love them with a passion, just like the rest of the animals that walk, fly, and swim in this earth. Again, thank you for lending a listening ear to this Fang of gold, you really are a little ball of sweetness, I just wanna hug and kiss you all over!!!

Totally not hitting on you by the way....

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

5213892
Right back at you, my little River.

[Final fantasy forever]

That was....very well said.

Your Uncle sounds so horrible...to do that to his nephew....just disgusting.

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

5218930
Yeah, my Uncle is one of those people you would not let any youngsters go around for any reason whatsoever. But if you think what he did to me with those dogs was bad, it is nothing compared to what did to me later on just a year prior to this. The memories are pretty hazy since I had been blocking them out in the time I spent trying to get through it, but I still remember bits and pieces of it. I may go into that story some day but...not today. I'm just not quite ready to go down there yet....

[Final fantasy forever]

5218977
God Almighty....just....God Almighty...I am so sorry