For the July 4th holiday, hubby and I and our daughter, drove over the mountains to central Washington for a few days. The eastern side of our state is a lot different than the western side of the state.
For starters, it’s dry … and hot!
The eastern side is farmland. Acre after acre of farmland!
Also, everyone on the eastern side drives pickup trucks! Rather than city-Teslas … and Rivians … and Cyber-trucks. (there are literally people who own those things in our area who just drive around, here and there, back and forth, up the valley, back down the valley, simply to show off and to be seen!)
None of that nonsense on the eastern side! On the eastern side it’s all heavy-duty pickup trucks!
Oh … and on the eastern side the people are a lot nicer! People actually smile. And are friendly. And kind to each other.
Whereas, on the western side the goal is to keep your head down, mind your own business, not mess with anybody else’s business, and to get done whatever it is you need to get done and get back home without getting yelled at. (just the other day hubby and I got honked at by an angry tailgater who was incensed that we slowed down to turn off the main road into our neighborhood)
The eastern side of our state is a lot different than the western side of the state.
On Saturday hubby and I and our daughter enjoyed strolling through a Farmer’s Market in Ellensburg; then we headed over to a riverfront park where there was a lovely walking trail alongside the Yakima River.
Voila …
I was so excited to see the Yakima River, because it is one of the primary rivers, after the Columbia, which defines our state.
But when I walked up to the Yakima … wait a minute! It’s flowing east! That can’t be right.
But it was. The swift-rushing Yakima was flowing east!
But all rivers flow west! That’s just common sense. Everyone knows that.
The ocean is west!
And all rivers flow to the ocean … so all rivers flow west!
In that moment it suddenly occurred to me that we were now on the eastern side of the Cascade Mountain Range … so obviously, all the snowmelt draining down out of the mountains would be flowing east.
Yes … the water would eventually make its way to the Pacific Ocean.
But for now, it was flowing east.
From the city of Ellensburg, the Yakima River turns and flows south, down through the city of Yakima … where it then turns to head east again. It continues to flow east across most of our state until it eventually empties into the mighty Columbia River!
The mighty Columbia then carries the water westward back through the Cascades and dumps into the Pacific Ocean.
I was surprised at myself for being so biased to the fact that all rivers flow west!
Multiple times we passed the beautiful swift-rushing Cle Elum River … and the Cle Elum was flowing east.
And every . single . time I was shocked! Every single time my immediate “blink” reaction was: “How can that be flowing east?! All rivers flow west!”
Having lived for so many years on the western side of the mountains, sandwiched between the Cascade Mountains and the Puget Sound, I’ve only ever seen rivers flowing west. Anytime we go anywhere, we pass a river flowing west. Anytime we go hiking in the mountains, the rivers are always flowing west.
And over time, it has settled into my subconscious that all rivers flow west.
See … the water is dumping into the Puget Sound. All rivers flow west.
When hubby and I moved to our home in the forest, I found my “all rivers flow west” bias challenged when I was faced with the Sammamish River and the Snohomish River … both of which flow north!
In this view you are looking due north … and the Snohomish River is flowing due north!
I could see it. And I knew it to be logically true. But my bias simply could not accept it.
It took a long time, but I finally came to accept the fact that these two rivers flow north instead of west (like they are supposed to!). Years ago, glaciers stretched down through our area, carving out north/south valleys, and creating north/south ridges in between the valleys. That’s logical. That makes sense. I can adjust my bias to that.
The thing is … even though the two rivers flow north, I know exactly where these two rivers dump west into the Puget Sound. Right here …
So all rivers do flow west!
This is a silly example, but it proves a point to show that our biases are very powerful!
We each have subconscious biases which have slowly formed (over time) in our minds, without us really knowing it. These subconscious biases form based upon what is “normal” for us. We don’t really know anything different. That’s just the way it is. So we assume that that’s the way it is everywhere!
Then one day we find ourselves in a situation (similar to me being on the eastern side of the mountains) and suddenly we are faced with things being different than what we are used to.
And just like I responded to the rivers flowing east, so also, in the same way we respond: “Wait a minute! That can’t be right!”
“Obviously that viewpoint can’t be right. That perspective/viewpoint is clearly wrong!”
“That’s not the way it’s done. I’ve never seen it done that way! I’ve certainly never done it like that! Obviously, they are doing it wrong!”
Or … “What is wrong with those people?!? I don’t get them at all!”
For example, hubby’s and my good friend came to visit us this past April. He is from an area of the country where everyone is kind and nice and friendly. Our friend was completely undone by how harsh, and blunt, and rude everyone in our area is.
For hubby and me this is simply normal. That’s just life.
For our friend, this was completely bizarre!
Our biases shape who we are.
Our biases are ingrained in us … slowly, over time … as a result of our life’s experiences.
We have biases about moral rights/wrongs.
We have biases about culture.
We have biases about “dating” and “relationships.”
We have biases about what “family” is.
We have biases about church … and “religion” … and what we think God is like.
Our biases (for the most part) are subconscious. We’re not even aware of them. It’s just “normal.”
Our biases are powerful! Our biases define who we are.
But they should not divide us.
What biases define you?
