On Changing Minds

No Comments | May 16th, 2007 | Trackback

I recently listened to a woman speak about her experience working with handicapped kids. She had a background in psychology as well as, obviously, an interest in the particular field the work was in, but was interacting only in an informal capacity with these children. Nevertheless it was useful, she said, because when she first started working with the kids, she felt bad for them, and because of that, it was harder to work with them in general: how could she ever do what her professional training was in if she was constantly empathizing with or even pitying them? Certainly her point was not that she should be completely emotionally cut off, or avoid feeling compassion, but just that becoming accustomed to them and “stabilizing” her emotional response to their handicap was an important step in being able to work with them effectively and to actually eventually utilize what her training was in.

I recently came across what is, for all intents and purposes, a totally unrelated article while browsing the education section of the Chicago Tribune. I wouldn’t say the situation is parallel, but somehow, in my mind at least, there is a common theme. Maybe that theme is that in different contexts, the experiences you have – even if they aren’t the ones you intended when you signed on – can still have a profound impact on your perspective and consequent action.

The woman working with the handicapped kids did not find a solution to the condition affecting them while interacting with them on a day to day basis, and the boy in the Tribune article did not “fix” any inter-religious issues. But the experiences they had will very likely play a significant role in their future outlook, decisions and actions. And I think in many cases the changing of people’s minds, as in these cases, to some extent at least, are key to long-term change, perhaps even more so than short term – if more measurable - “results”.