People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes. --Abigail Van Buren
How did we get so convinced that our way is usually best? That surely didn't come from a lifetime of constant success.
How did we get fixed in our thinking on a given issue? Not from a track record of first exploring all other alternatives.
This rigidity probably helped us survive childhood. But now it's a wall that isolates us. It closes our minds off from ideas that are more in keeping with where we want to be. And it closes us off from people whom we would like to be with.
Take note of others who are not so fixed in their thinking. They don't pass judgment or criticize quickly. Their tranquility is obvious. Their openness lets them hear more from others, and appears to be one of the ways to knowledge, change, and growth. We might want to try that and discover that listening to others is a blessing, not a burden.
3 comments:
That's the reason I'm such a fan of Malcolm X. He's one of the few public people who has said, "You know what? I've met some new people, had some new experiences, learned some new things, and I have changed my mind." That took a lot of wisdom and courage.
" It closes our minds off from ideas that are more in keeping with where we want to be. And it closes us off from people whom we would like to be with."
Love that part, Mel!
And I also love Thomas's comment about Malcolm X!
X
That's quite a quote. Gotta remember it. (Note to self.)
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