I forget where I first heard the expression, but I have long held the idea that we are all the same person wearing a different mask. We all arrive in the same state, and sure we might have some biological tendencies toward certain things, but the only separator is life. At any moment, the only difference between us is a combination of our experiences up to that point. For me, that is the most fascinating thing about the world.

I am absolutely fascinated by other peoples thought patterns and the way they think about life. Especially those that have a way of looking at the world that I don’t understand, or agree with. Rather than judging them or dismissing them, I often ask far too many questions because I want to understand them better. This often leads me down a path of discovery and understanding of the reason behind differing options, and questioning myself.

The motivator for this is the question that my Grandfather taught me to think about everyone. “What are they doing that I can learn from”. He would talk to people doing different crafts at Christmas fairs with no intention of doing them. Religious people that came to the door, despite being a devote Christian, and sometimes even people preaching in the street. Even though he understood himself and what he wanted from the world, he would ask questions to learn from everyone else.

Now, I am not one for talking to people in the street, but this constant learning from different people is ingrained in me somehow. Don’t get me wrong, I do walk away from some conversations shaking my head a little, but there is always some understanding to be found. Once you realise that we are all the same person, you can begin to understand why people are they way they are. You can understand why they adopt the view points they do, and then begin to question yourself.

You begin to question the way you look at the world, rather than thinking you are correct all the time. Rather than the imposter syndrome breading environment it sounds like, it leads to an inquisitive nature that is keen to learn more about almost every thought process you have. Which, if I can state some solid grounding for my beliefs, is the best way to look at the world.

By recognising differences, and understanding them, you begin to realise how similar we all are and the superficial bullshit the world seems to use to separate us doesn’t matter in the slightest.