Context 1: I’m 20 minutes late to my friend’s event, feeling anxiety about being tardy. I hate people who aren’t punctual - that’s so disrespectful.
Stimulus: Driver ahead of me is driving slow
Perception 1: Driver is a dick - I hate him. Hurry the fuck up. Who taught you how to drive
Context 2: I just received a text from someone that I can’t wait to read, but don’t want to endanger myself by driving fast while texting. Mom taught me to never text while driving, but I’m also kind of a bad boy who likes to bend the rules.
Stimulus: Driver ahead of me is driving slow
Perception 2: Thank God for this guy. Now I get to read my text and I don’t have to stop since we are moving so slow. Thanks dude.
As we can see above, the stimulus above is identical. But the perception could not be more different.
My perception of any person, object or stimulus is driven by my Context. My Context is created by any and everything that’s ever happened to me prior to this moment.
We could do this with hundreds of examples, but hopefully 1 will be enough for brevity and carpal tunnel purposes.
That Context is what makes an unlucky someone a villain in my mind
That same context makes another unsuspecting person a hero - sneaking a spandex suit onto them before they even know what has happened.
The stimulus or person has very little to do with it.
So if you find yourself villainizing someone, don’t try to change this person (the stimulus). That’s a never ending treadmill of work that will kill you slowly.
Instead, the only thing that you can scrub is your Context. If you’re experiencing someone as the maniacal Villain or the spandex-clad Hero, notice how your Context is plopping them in that place.
And if it wasn’t for your Context, they might not get to be either a hero or a villain, just an npc walking around in the background of your life.
Hopefully noticing how your Context is the code running in the background gives you more ability to see through your Matrix and achieve true Emotional Freedom.
In the interim, I giggle thinking to the day in the future when I hear someone yelling from their car:
“I’m sorry sir, but for this moment my Context has made you a Villain.”