Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: Day 2
This quote is a great message about how we see the world and ourselves. It seems to come much easier to people to judge others or situations based on what they see and their opinion of them. When in reality it may be completely a different story all together. We discussed this topic in the past post "Is Your Perception Your Reality?". Many times they way we view things is not what they truly are.
There are two ways to look at this quote. One way is that he was stating that we are often tricked by shadows into thinking they are something they are not or we let our mind imagine what it is. When instead the shadow of the tree is just a representation and symbol of the tree but is not the actual tree. This means that you may see the surface of someone's problems or actions and make assumptions about that. When in reality you should get to know the real person and root of things before you judge them on their character.
The second is the more literal interpretation in that your character, the person you truly are and who you show to the world, is the real you. Not the reputation, or shadow, that others make up for you. Gossip, rumors, and opinions of others form their reputation based on what people here and state. But how you act and show who you truly are is your character.