From the Inside Looking Out
Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. I hold no designations in politics, economics or medicine. I am retired from the mental health field. I am a humanitarian and speak from that viewpoint only. Whether you agree with me or not, at least I hope it makes you think. This week I look at viewpoints…in “From the Inside Looking Out” and perhaps from the outside looking in…the views are spectacularly different and yet together will give a fuller picture. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!
It’s been a week of reflection and differing viewpoints on the same topics here. This got me thinking about viewpoints. There is the viewpoint of someone looking from inside a particular group or area and looking out. This viewpoint can be beautiful; however, it can also miss what is on the outside. Looking in from the outside can also have its benefits, but also misses out on the details and you aren’t an actual member of the particular group. Is there a balanced view? Is it just different viewpoints? Can there be some joining of the viewpoints to get a cohesive whole? This is the thing that might bring the various groups together or might tear them apart. I intend to look at it and see if there is a chance to make some fuller picture of the whole thing.
As Big Sean is quoted with saying, “From the inside looking out you can never see how it looks from the outside looking in.” Perhaps that is what makes things so complicated. If you’re on the inside, you miss some of what is on the outside and from the outside; you miss some of what is on the inside. This is what makes things confusing for people who are allies to the 2SLGBTQ+ community for example. We want to support our friends and family, yet we don’t actually know the struggle and can only imagine from seeing all the hate online and in the news and we know that it makes us feel helpless and angry. The same goes for deniers of the horrors of Nazi Germany. We see what they are saying, we know the history and it horrifies us that people would so coldly deny the murder of so many innocent people. We only see the surface and miss out on the details. The everyday occurrences that make/made up their lives are not part of our own experience. We see the painful posts, we see the hateful comments and we feel defeated and broken. Sometimes we see the survivor they show. Very few of us, if any, could ever get to experience it from the inside. We, for the most part, cannot feel what they feel or see what they see. In some ways to be able to see these viewpoints would be a gift and in other ways a curse. To feel so much would open one’s eyes to the many possibilities and there are so many possibilities in the world. This is also confusing because with all those possibilities a percentage of people seem to choose hate and harm rather than choosing love and healing. It would take strength and endurance to stand up to feeling it. It would also give so much wisdom. It would be wisdom that would only come with being able to do both and that is a near impossibility at best. Sadly, it is a rare and nearly impossible insight to gain. One can only really see the surface. The same is true of the abuse of the First Nation Children. This article gives one story that gives just a taste of how the residential schools affected First Nation Children and continue to affect them and their families today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iorD2... . We can read about it, we can see the horrors, it reaches our hearts, but we cannot truly know the damage that this horror caused. We didn’t live it. We can imagine that it would cause a huge amount of damage. It can help us gain a better understanding and a deeper respect for groups who have had these experiences. None of the groups truly has the whole picture.
From the outside looking in, we see things like the children dying in the USA due to school shootings and we know we cannot belong to the groups of people in the USA who are grieving because we are from Canada or fit in other groups and we cannot make changes to the political system there. We’re outsiders here in Canada and have a front row seat to this but no real power to enact change there. It boggles the mind that there are so many who would fight to keep up a situation which has been made untenable due to political lines. It is hard to understand how guns and politics are joined and how some would put that ahead of child safety. Even while writing the draft to this blog post/podcast (July 5, 2023), there seems to be another school shooting https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/re... . From the outside looking in, it makes no sense. From the Canadian perspective, these things are becoming ever more frequent and the violence seems to be crossing the border. This is part of what is terrifying about this situation. When something happens to the South of us, we get some of the fallout but we have no real power to change anything there. I’m sure that the same feeling exists for people who are neighbours to other countries.
On the other hand, this does not excuse us from trying to understand the whole picture. It is part of empathy that has people attempt to understand situations which you have not actively had. It is allowing the other person to feel what they need to in order for them to become stronger and healthier. This can be a two way street or a one way street. We can express our shock and the range of emotions in support of others. You don’t have to have lived an event to be able to feel compassion for another. That is part of nature for many. For example, in therapy, the therapist may not necessarily have had the experience with the situation in question, but they have the training and expertise to help the client to reach a place in their lives where they can cope. It does not mean that things will ever go back to the way they were or that the person will not still have issues. Some things may always be uncomfortable. Speaking from the background, I can also honestly say that not only is therapy not a one size fits all, but therapists have specialties for a reason. It is not something that they can just toss on a new one like an overcoat. It does take time, training and deliberate planning. Depending on the background and training, to ask for an instant change of specialty is akin to throwing away years of training and expertise and essentially makes a decision to retrain. It is asking to give up what makes things meaningful. It is also asking to toss out meanings one has picked up to help others over the years. This should not be taken lightly and when it is made to be an on demand thing, it destroys part of who you are. Knowing one’s own limitations is imperative. As with life, nothing is perfect and neither are therapists. It is not always necessary that one be a therapist to help someone along their path. However, the danger in not having a therapist involved at some point, when it comes to serious issues is that can lose their way. Some people find their path either way and some don’t. It’s all part of the marvellous path that we call life.
As Tina Turner is credited with saying, “My legacy is that I stayed on course... from the beginning to the end, because I believed in something inside of me.” There is no better teacher than life. Education is part of it. You educate yourself, you educate others. The frightening thing about the viewpoint of being from the outside looking in versus the inside looking out is that we don’t belong to the actual group and this comes with its own costs. This is part of the actual definition of from the outside looking in (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_the...). It leaves us in a position where we can only lament the dead and keep supporting our allies while being an outsider and thus somewhat exposed. What becomes ever more frightening is that there are those who take over media, mass media and other forums that support all the hate and violence and try to silence the ones on the outside looking in. There are different viewpoints and ideologies from which they both sprout. There is a lack of compassion when it comes to politics. It seems politics has become a weapon rather than a way of running countries. Money is the root of all evil (old saying) and it seems that politics, rather than being based on theory and trying to reach a livable conclusion has become a way of beating up on people that are seen as ‘unacceptable’ in some way. This is the scariest thing about the varying viewpoints. It seems to result in lack of respect for humans and human life. I sometimes despair that humanity will be able to move forward. If we silence those from the outside looking in, we lose a different perspective. If we silence those on the inside looking out, we may lose what can be.
So, where does this disparity and different viewpoints leave us? As Kendra Scott is credited with saying, “Focus on what lights a fire inside of you and use that passion to fill a white space. Don't be afraid of the challenges, the missteps, and the setbacks along the way. What matters is that you keep going.” It is imperative that we find balance in this life. It is not easy to achieve. It is not impossible either. It is difficult. I had really considered leaving Twitter in the past week or so. Ability to post or respond was messed with. The owner seemed to be taking shots at anyone and everyone. Two major holidays came and went for Canada (Canada Day also controversial in its own way) and July 4th (with similar controversies) and we were told to go out and spend time with our families. This isn’t a point I argue with, but it was used more like a weapon to rub in the faces of the user that what we thought didn’t matter, what we felt didn’t matter and what we did would not matter. It was that which I felt most keenly. What decided my staying was that if I leave and other like-minded people leave, who will be the ally and who will speak for the groups that are being sidelined and silenced. Whether from the inside looking out or the outside looking in, both viewpoints will be necessary to find a more balanced world. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope it makes you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
It’s been a week of reflection and differing viewpoints on the same topics here. This got me thinking about viewpoints. There is the viewpoint of someone looking from inside a particular group or area and looking out. This viewpoint can be beautiful; however, it can also miss what is on the outside. Looking in from the outside can also have its benefits, but also misses out on the details and you aren’t an actual member of the particular group. Is there a balanced view? Is it just different viewpoints? Can there be some joining of the viewpoints to get a cohesive whole? This is the thing that might bring the various groups together or might tear them apart. I intend to look at it and see if there is a chance to make some fuller picture of the whole thing.
As Big Sean is quoted with saying, “From the inside looking out you can never see how it looks from the outside looking in.” Perhaps that is what makes things so complicated. If you’re on the inside, you miss some of what is on the outside and from the outside; you miss some of what is on the inside. This is what makes things confusing for people who are allies to the 2SLGBTQ+ community for example. We want to support our friends and family, yet we don’t actually know the struggle and can only imagine from seeing all the hate online and in the news and we know that it makes us feel helpless and angry. The same goes for deniers of the horrors of Nazi Germany. We see what they are saying, we know the history and it horrifies us that people would so coldly deny the murder of so many innocent people. We only see the surface and miss out on the details. The everyday occurrences that make/made up their lives are not part of our own experience. We see the painful posts, we see the hateful comments and we feel defeated and broken. Sometimes we see the survivor they show. Very few of us, if any, could ever get to experience it from the inside. We, for the most part, cannot feel what they feel or see what they see. In some ways to be able to see these viewpoints would be a gift and in other ways a curse. To feel so much would open one’s eyes to the many possibilities and there are so many possibilities in the world. This is also confusing because with all those possibilities a percentage of people seem to choose hate and harm rather than choosing love and healing. It would take strength and endurance to stand up to feeling it. It would also give so much wisdom. It would be wisdom that would only come with being able to do both and that is a near impossibility at best. Sadly, it is a rare and nearly impossible insight to gain. One can only really see the surface. The same is true of the abuse of the First Nation Children. This article gives one story that gives just a taste of how the residential schools affected First Nation Children and continue to affect them and their families today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iorD2... . We can read about it, we can see the horrors, it reaches our hearts, but we cannot truly know the damage that this horror caused. We didn’t live it. We can imagine that it would cause a huge amount of damage. It can help us gain a better understanding and a deeper respect for groups who have had these experiences. None of the groups truly has the whole picture.
From the outside looking in, we see things like the children dying in the USA due to school shootings and we know we cannot belong to the groups of people in the USA who are grieving because we are from Canada or fit in other groups and we cannot make changes to the political system there. We’re outsiders here in Canada and have a front row seat to this but no real power to enact change there. It boggles the mind that there are so many who would fight to keep up a situation which has been made untenable due to political lines. It is hard to understand how guns and politics are joined and how some would put that ahead of child safety. Even while writing the draft to this blog post/podcast (July 5, 2023), there seems to be another school shooting https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/re... . From the outside looking in, it makes no sense. From the Canadian perspective, these things are becoming ever more frequent and the violence seems to be crossing the border. This is part of what is terrifying about this situation. When something happens to the South of us, we get some of the fallout but we have no real power to change anything there. I’m sure that the same feeling exists for people who are neighbours to other countries.
On the other hand, this does not excuse us from trying to understand the whole picture. It is part of empathy that has people attempt to understand situations which you have not actively had. It is allowing the other person to feel what they need to in order for them to become stronger and healthier. This can be a two way street or a one way street. We can express our shock and the range of emotions in support of others. You don’t have to have lived an event to be able to feel compassion for another. That is part of nature for many. For example, in therapy, the therapist may not necessarily have had the experience with the situation in question, but they have the training and expertise to help the client to reach a place in their lives where they can cope. It does not mean that things will ever go back to the way they were or that the person will not still have issues. Some things may always be uncomfortable. Speaking from the background, I can also honestly say that not only is therapy not a one size fits all, but therapists have specialties for a reason. It is not something that they can just toss on a new one like an overcoat. It does take time, training and deliberate planning. Depending on the background and training, to ask for an instant change of specialty is akin to throwing away years of training and expertise and essentially makes a decision to retrain. It is asking to give up what makes things meaningful. It is also asking to toss out meanings one has picked up to help others over the years. This should not be taken lightly and when it is made to be an on demand thing, it destroys part of who you are. Knowing one’s own limitations is imperative. As with life, nothing is perfect and neither are therapists. It is not always necessary that one be a therapist to help someone along their path. However, the danger in not having a therapist involved at some point, when it comes to serious issues is that can lose their way. Some people find their path either way and some don’t. It’s all part of the marvellous path that we call life.
As Tina Turner is credited with saying, “My legacy is that I stayed on course... from the beginning to the end, because I believed in something inside of me.” There is no better teacher than life. Education is part of it. You educate yourself, you educate others. The frightening thing about the viewpoint of being from the outside looking in versus the inside looking out is that we don’t belong to the actual group and this comes with its own costs. This is part of the actual definition of from the outside looking in (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_the...). It leaves us in a position where we can only lament the dead and keep supporting our allies while being an outsider and thus somewhat exposed. What becomes ever more frightening is that there are those who take over media, mass media and other forums that support all the hate and violence and try to silence the ones on the outside looking in. There are different viewpoints and ideologies from which they both sprout. There is a lack of compassion when it comes to politics. It seems politics has become a weapon rather than a way of running countries. Money is the root of all evil (old saying) and it seems that politics, rather than being based on theory and trying to reach a livable conclusion has become a way of beating up on people that are seen as ‘unacceptable’ in some way. This is the scariest thing about the varying viewpoints. It seems to result in lack of respect for humans and human life. I sometimes despair that humanity will be able to move forward. If we silence those from the outside looking in, we lose a different perspective. If we silence those on the inside looking out, we may lose what can be.
So, where does this disparity and different viewpoints leave us? As Kendra Scott is credited with saying, “Focus on what lights a fire inside of you and use that passion to fill a white space. Don't be afraid of the challenges, the missteps, and the setbacks along the way. What matters is that you keep going.” It is imperative that we find balance in this life. It is not easy to achieve. It is not impossible either. It is difficult. I had really considered leaving Twitter in the past week or so. Ability to post or respond was messed with. The owner seemed to be taking shots at anyone and everyone. Two major holidays came and went for Canada (Canada Day also controversial in its own way) and July 4th (with similar controversies) and we were told to go out and spend time with our families. This isn’t a point I argue with, but it was used more like a weapon to rub in the faces of the user that what we thought didn’t matter, what we felt didn’t matter and what we did would not matter. It was that which I felt most keenly. What decided my staying was that if I leave and other like-minded people leave, who will be the ally and who will speak for the groups that are being sidelined and silenced. Whether from the inside looking out or the outside looking in, both viewpoints will be necessary to find a more balanced world. Whether you agree with me or not, I hope it makes you think. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Keep watching because we’re always working on something. Thank you!
The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Blog Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-... name a few
All my e-books can be found on:
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndrewAandJP...
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A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA
A & J PEI Treasures is located on Prince Edward Island, Canada. We are a husband and wife team and our companion animals. There are a number of things that drew us to the Island…one of which was the n
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