I've always gravitated toward Aristotle's words that remind us, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." In fact, my primary objective as an educator - especially now as a yoga teacher in the Texas public school system - has been to model this ethic in everything I do and say.
I had the great pleasure of engaging with such a mind earlier today. My wonderful conversation with friend and fellow yoga teacher, Sheree', reminded me that life is a subtle blend of inflection. And, that extreme thought patterns should, almost exclusively, be avoided if we intend to hold fast to our humanity.
Rarely when we make a face-to-face acquaintance with another human is our interaction brash or polarized. Yet, from a national or global perspective, our ways of being seem so extreme in so many ways.
Why the discrepancy? How is it that we can connect in a kind, considerate, or at least civil manner on an individual level, yet we're consistently at loggerheads as a national or global community?
Although I'm grossly unqualified to even consider an answer to such a complex and convoluted dilemma, I'll at least entertain one. Here it is: We can only truly influence our personal, small-scale interactions and dilemmas. Secondly, we have very little control over the "big stuff". Consequently, I believe that the former may, in part, serve as the beginning of a solution to the latter.
How? Well, we already have a road map if we're willing to emulate the actions, ethics and examples of our past. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
If that seems too cliche to you...well...it is, because according to a piece titled Falser Words Were Never Spoken, there is "no reliable documentary evidence" for the quotation.
Like many other powerful passages from our past, I can't help but hold a certain skepticism that this message was either intentionally or unintentionally tampered with. Well, well, well....if Gandhi were alive...he would...he would...probably just smile or laugh. You know, non-aggression and all.
I admit I have no evidence to support my tampering claim; however, I do believe that Gandhi's actual and documented words might lend a certain validity:
“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.”
Finally, I'll leave you with an analogy from tech-guru Steve Jobs. He once recounted a childhood memory of a machine that would smooth out old, run-of-the-mill rocks. The process was simple: Select at least two or three jagged stones, toss them into the mechanism (which looked and functioned must like a paint shaker), and let the stones tumble around for an extended period of time. Upon retrieving them, the stones manifest a shiny, smooth finish. Wallah!!!
I've been lucky enough to experience a like process through the engagement of genuine, unfiltered, intelligent conversation. As in the analogy, when we entertain new and sometimes uncomfortable ideas with other - regardless of whether or not we accept them - we emerge as brighter, better people. This process irons out our sharp and unrefined ideas to reveal a newly-found acumen in word and thought. It's just that simple.
I'm so very grateful for my friends, and I'm especially grateful that I had the opportunity to entertain ideas with my friend Sheree' this morning.
Namaste.
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