In the last few weeks I made several international trips and so saw not only unending hours of fellow airplane passenger behavior but also how wherever I was so many were in their own impervious bubble. It’s an odd phenomenon how at the same time we are able to access information about everything from everywhere, so many use this ability to exclude information about almost everything.
So many use the self selecting tools of the internet, aided by those nice people at places like Amazon who know exactly what you want from what you bought last time, to put on blinders rather than widen their view. Add in ubiquitous earphones making conversation impossible and watching your very own portable movie theater keeping your eyes from seeing anything going on around you, and the bubble gets tigher.
We have the ability to set our filters tighter and tighter, ensuring we only see that which supports our views. Other ideas really don’t exist for us. No wonder our political process is so fractured. The bubble of a politican has become as small as it can get without strangling them.
And yet except for those who founded cults, people in leadership positions require the opposite view. Sure, you need to be focused on that goal out there somewhere but the path involves leading people of all types and ideas while being fully aware of what’s going on in the world at large.
Burst your bubble. Breathe deeply. Look around and notice the view rather than keeping your nose in your iPad. Skip traveling with movies and figure out other things to do. One idea to try…talk to everyone you meet.