Filters: observations, data, facts, information and intentions

When I shape my day, I use a huge quantity of snippets of observations (data) , label some of them as relevant facts and interpret them/ give them meaning , depending of what I am intending to do. We all do that.

‘ the car key is on the side table’
‘ there is a small piece of cheese in the fridge’
‘ my father lives in the Netherlands’

If I want to visit my father, I can drive there by car. That is a couple of hours away, I may want to take some food with me. I am happy to know I have cheese available in the fridge, so I can take that with me. Before I can start the engine, I’ll need the car key, which I can find on the side-table.

The (rough data) that I’ve marked to be facts ( true right now) are not intrinsically connected! I make the connection! The story could also have been:

I notice there is a small piece of cheese in the fridge. When I eat it, grabbing the car key from the side-table to go shopping, I think of the Netherlands where they like cheese a lot and of my father, who lives there.

Or...

Our French neighbour is visiting us. He puts his car keys on the side-table and is grateful that I have volunteered to come with him to collect something heavy with it.  Knowing that I am Dutch, he asks me if I still have family there. I tell him that my father lives in the Netherlands.  Meanwhile I check the fridge for something we can eat. I am disappointed to see that there is only a small piece of cheese in it and I check the cupboard for biscuits.

Or...or....or..... (same data)

Notice how the very same piece of cheese, the very same snippet of information got three different emotional responses:  happy, neutral and disappointment?

Creating three completely different, truths for that moment:
- I am happy to see there is still cheese
- I am indifferent to seeing some cheese
- I am disappointment to see not enough cheese

You can also see that some ‘facts’ have a longer shelve life than others.
When the neighbour has left, I may be happy again with the cheese that is available for me to eat. The next day, my father probably still lives in the Netherlands, the car key is in a coat pocket now.

Today’s facts are tomorrows ( the next second, next weeks, in 10 years) outdated irrelevant data.

But if something has been labelled fact for long enough... it may be viewed as written in stone and can get stuck as debris in the ever ongoing (re-)cycling systems of life... causing all sorts of havoc.

I say: “It is an important information/life skill to keep your filters clear, to avoid blockages.”