Inside the Ivory Tower: Its a matter of perception

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” I remember my grandmother saying this but it was always in a different light i.e. just because it may look like the person might not come from the same strata as you doesn’t mean they have nothing to offer. I have realized recently that this holds true when you turn the tables as well. Ever so often I’ll hear comments like “what struggle ya she/he is rich” or “how does it matter they have the money” or the ever so famous “ Ya, so we aren’t as fancy as you so.” While I wouldn’t say much, smile and laugh it off a few times; I must admit; it did tick me off. But my upbringing got the better of me and I stayed quiet instead of voicing my opinion.

A few days ago a friend brought this up in a very serious conversation saying, “you know you talk about your money too much. This does intimidate people……” While I respect that point of view its not entirely true. This is still just one side of the story. What about the other side? What about the people that live in those ivory towers? In the culture we have been brought up in we have been taught not boast, or throw our achievements in other peoples faces. We have been taught humility and compassion. Talking about money, material possessions etc. are almost taboo. I ask you today, why? Just because this isn’t your personal reality doesn’t mean it isn’t somebody else’s.

Not everybody is born equal, this we all are aware off. Some of us have gifted intelligence, others hearts of gold, some incredible talent which sometimes comes with a huge side order of arrogance etc. We put up with the arrogance more often because we respect the genius behind the façade. So why not the same tolerance when it comes to wealth?

While I understand where the perception of the uber rich comes from there is a lot of us you don’t know. You wouldn’t know our struggles, pain, past experiences, insecurities, and frustrations or stress because believe it or not money isn’t the answer to everything. Our owes might not be the same as yours that doesn’t mean there aren’t just as real.

We would all agree that our realities are different. Each individual’s life is distinctive and relative. What I might find offensive you might not. I am an animal lover while a few of my very dear friends honestly couldn’t care less. Does that mean that I should single them out and start calling them inhuman? Now while I understand it’s not EXACTLY the same thing lets just take a step back and evaluate.

When we were students we found street shopping affordable while a store was quite literally out of bounds. Today we are earning and all doing reasonably well for ourselves. Hence, walking into a Zara or an HnM isn’t that big a deal anymore but walking into a high-end brand is. While on the other hand there is still a very large part of the population that still cant afford it. So when the tables turn is it the same or has your view changed? It’s all a matter of perception and your individual reality.  

Don’t be so quick to judge those in their Ivory towers cause their journeys are equally as winding as yours as different doesn’t necessarily mean bad.

So before you set out to judge someone takes a step back and thinks whether your judgments are partial or based in facts.

Smile, Breath and Go Slowly….