The problem with understanding things is that you understand them.

So when you interact with the world, you do so with that understanding. And what may seem like an ‘of course’ to you may seem like an insurmountable obstacle to others. What seems simple to you, seems like magic to them.

Technology is the easiest example. What I view as common and everyday is something many would find to be frustrating and opaque.

And when that understanding moves beyond the realm of physical things…you’re distance from others grows as well. Because the world you are experiencing is not the world they are experiencing.

I often say to myself, “Sonder.”

Sonder is the understanding that each being you experience is living an entire reality that you cannot understand.

And it applies to yourself as well. The life you are experiencing, cannot be fully understood by anyone else.

We can be truthful. We can be open and honest. We can be emotionally intelligent and caring. But our understanding of our reality means that we will leave things out of that discourse. Because, to us, it is a given. Something we just accept and know.

This is why we experience pushback when we explain things to people. Because our inherent understanding is different from their inherent understanding. And what they perceive as real is not what you perceive as real. Not fully. Not completely. Even when you approach parity.

All we can do is understand where they are coming from, as much as possible, and meet them where they are.

And beyond that, be humble. Because what you understand needs to evolve. You cannot rest on your own understanding. Stagnation is death.