Assumed Familiarity

Can't we all just get along? No, probably not. Often, we can all assume such a great deal from other people. We assume they are at the same point in life that we are and will automatically understand our point of view, which is shaped by a lifetime of unique and personal experience. I was born in 1981. You may have been born in 1969. What does this mean? It means that you are on a different path to me and will share similar experiences in recent times, but will have approached them from such a different perspective. This seems like such an obvious thing to point out, but it also seems to be society's biggest downfall, that being the lack of ability to empathise with others.

Then there are other times, particularly as we get older we develop a particular type of screening process. This actually helps us recognise that we have nothing in common with certain people and encourages isolation for many people.

Finding the balance between these two approaches will lead to a healthy outlook, if we deviate too far to either side then we'll probably have problems!