We are quick to have opinions about anything. Even when we
lack facts, we get strong feelings about things. We jump to
conclusions rather than consider carefully. Our mind works in
a manner that “forces” us to take sides. Undecided opinions
are not of much value, and you quickly “lose” the conversation
if the arguments are not clear and become tilted to one side or
the other.
Actually, opinions are totally useless. You can ask one hun-
dred people for their opinions and they will all have different
points of view. This is natural because we are all more or less
bound to imperfect understanding and perceptions of the
world. Therefore, our opinions are based on our own angle and
experience. Opinions do not need to be associated with objec-
tive facts or knowledge because we simply do not have access
to that type of information; we live in a world of imperfect
data and perceptions. That is why opinions are so frustrating.
We simply do not understand the rationale behind them, and
often there is none—we simply feel or “just think so.”
There is a big difference between opinions and firsthand
experience. The latter is based on our own wisdom—we have
knowledge about the issue. It is “true” to us and we have lived
through the experience; therefore, we have a stronger standing
point and more accuracy to describe the issue. Nevertheless, the
absolute truth may not be closer to our reality, but still we are
more certain than when talking about opinions. We like to learn
from people who speak from their own experience. We feel that
they have something of value to offer us. Opinions, on the other
hand, are pure lip service. They are recycled words that are not
considered and thought true by the speaker. Opinions have no
relevance—we could easily live without them. Let’s experience
more and repeat less what others have done.
This is the original text, and an edited version can be found in the Fragments of Reality -book.
