Tell Me a Story - Part IV

Obviously, more than one of us is thinking about stories this week.  Seth Godin wrote in a recent blog, "If you spend enough time experiencing your own take on reality, you come to believe that what works for you might actually be a universal truth. Marketing plus psychology might equal science, it seems."  He was talking about the placebo effect in marketing, but it applies to the stories we tell ourselves as well.  He also says "We've so blurred the lines between stories we tell ourselves and our perception of the outside world that it's easy to be confused and easier still to confuse others if it advances your cause." (For the entire blog, click on his name, above).  What he means is that if you choose to believe only one set of facts, and you close your eyes to any others, and add a good dose of emotion, you can create a reality that can persuade or confuse the rest of the world.  It's why when we tell our stories to others who know and trust us, they believe our version of reality and become the advocates for our views.  It's how the lovely man you married became the S.O.B. you divorced, and how the terrific mother became the woman who abandoned her family.  Seth asks at the close of his post whether we should get upset when others' version of reality doesn't match ours, or whether we should leave ourselves open to acquiring additional knowledge and the possibility that our truth is not THE truth.  I guess it depends on whether the story you tell yourself is that you want to know what you don't know, or would rather be secure in your own beliefs however flawed.  Your answer to that  last question tells me how we resolve the issues related to your family law matter.  I know you won't be surprised to know I prefer the former and not the latter, as that usually means you might not be a return customer.