How is it that we lost joy and wonder and replaced it for cynicism?

My take is that it’s because we have started thinking in absolutes out of fear. We’ve been raised to believe that there’s only one truth and that we need to compete for it. After all, those are just the ‘facts’.

But this also makes us extremely close minded as well. I’m speaking from experience as someone who worked for a decade in Finance, Security, and Technology.

A clear cut system with definitive rules is easy, but that doesn’t make it the ‘truth’. In the end, none of us know what is real. Science is as much a belief system, as religion is. What you hold to be true, is not the reality of another person, or the reality as a whole. It doesn’t matter how strong your belief is, you cannot force another person to experience life differently.

Empathy lies in accepting that we are all experiencing different things. Holding space for another’s perspective, even if it’s poorly explained, could just teach you something. And by asking questions, we both learn.

Alternatively, you can claim your truth to be singular and act cynical towards others. I’ve found that this decreased the spring in my step and I’m not in this life to suffer.

This attitude just seems to be originating from fear in the end. Fear of being shown a different reality than your own. Fear of change.

Once you release your fear of change, you can peacefully float in relativity. This is the art of detachment: to stop projecting expectations.