My first idea for a title to this post was “Right and wrong: Why we have stopped searching for truth”. I ended up concluding it was just too bold of a statement and seemed to be cracking into something rather philosophical. But it does have the ring of a typical article title, doesn’t it? “Buffets: A delicious family experience or a terrible excuse for a meal?”, “Yoga with cats: the true way to exercise”... Anyways, jokes aside, I was hoping to delve into something a little more relatable, a little closer to home.
We have all witnessed and been apart of arguments numerous times in our lives. For some of us it could be more like numerous times in a day. There is nothing wrong with discussions to come to an understanding between different individuals and parties, however that is not often the case. I’d say the biggest reason we argue or fight is because we believe we are absolutely right and the other person is absolutely wrong. We then turn a lot of things into a “you versus me” or “us against them” scenario. Could it be that this whole time- and I’m talking through all of history- we have all been wrong in that thinking?
Here’s the problem that usually occurs when we claim another individual or group is wrong: we then put ourselves in the position of being absolutely right. Rarely, if ever, is that the case though. The truth is that both need to grow, both need to learn. But if you think you are already “right” then why would you search for the way that you could improve? Why would you feel motivated to check whether you’ve played a part in creating this problem and, more importantly, whether you can play a part in bringing about the solution?
We love the feeling of “being right”. Our minds are constantly creating concepts and assumptions about others and situations; we like to “have it all figured out”. However, what we need to do is recognize that those things are merely our perceptions. Let’s not settle for that. Let's seek for truly understanding someone, let’s seek for the solution that will really bring the results we want, lets seek for the way forward, for truth.
I have been humbled many times by the realization that my concept of someone is totally wrong. It’s actually become more and more of a refreshing experience. It reminds me that I don’t have to get things absolutely right, I can let life and others surprise me and teach me.
This leads to the next step. In the spirit of looking fo the truth, I wanted to make more effort to do real research when doing writing for these blogs. Not that what I’ve written so far has been false or anything. It just feels like I have been writing a lot of my own thoughts, backed ofcourse to a certain degree by what I have read or experienced. One thing I wanted to experience with doing this blog was finding something I was interested in, but was maybe not so familiar with, and taking the time to learn more about it. And if it’s really interesting I’ll try to share it here.
Here’s a couple areas I will be looking into:
We have all witnessed and been apart of arguments numerous times in our lives. For some of us it could be more like numerous times in a day. There is nothing wrong with discussions to come to an understanding between different individuals and parties, however that is not often the case. I’d say the biggest reason we argue or fight is because we believe we are absolutely right and the other person is absolutely wrong. We then turn a lot of things into a “you versus me” or “us against them” scenario. Could it be that this whole time- and I’m talking through all of history- we have all been wrong in that thinking?
Here’s the problem that usually occurs when we claim another individual or group is wrong: we then put ourselves in the position of being absolutely right. Rarely, if ever, is that the case though. The truth is that both need to grow, both need to learn. But if you think you are already “right” then why would you search for the way that you could improve? Why would you feel motivated to check whether you’ve played a part in creating this problem and, more importantly, whether you can play a part in bringing about the solution?
We love the feeling of “being right”. Our minds are constantly creating concepts and assumptions about others and situations; we like to “have it all figured out”. However, what we need to do is recognize that those things are merely our perceptions. Let’s not settle for that. Let's seek for truly understanding someone, let’s seek for the solution that will really bring the results we want, lets seek for the way forward, for truth.
I have been humbled many times by the realization that my concept of someone is totally wrong. It’s actually become more and more of a refreshing experience. It reminds me that I don’t have to get things absolutely right, I can let life and others surprise me and teach me.
This leads to the next step. In the spirit of looking fo the truth, I wanted to make more effort to do real research when doing writing for these blogs. Not that what I’ve written so far has been false or anything. It just feels like I have been writing a lot of my own thoughts, backed ofcourse to a certain degree by what I have read or experienced. One thing I wanted to experience with doing this blog was finding something I was interested in, but was maybe not so familiar with, and taking the time to learn more about it. And if it’s really interesting I’ll try to share it here.
Here’s a couple areas I will be looking into:
Addictions- This is an area of life that so many people have been affected by yet the majority of us lack the full understanding of how to resolve this issue. A recent definition of addiction that I came across helps deepen the understanding of it: “Addiction is the compulsive use of any substance, person, feeling, or behaviour with a relative disregard of the potentially negative social, psychological, and physical consequences.” From Greg Baer, author of Real Love and Freedom for the Soul
Current world situations- In particular the recent events in the Korean peninsula really got me interested and excited because it seems that things have begun to develop quite suddenly, and in a good way. There needs to be reunification there! That is not the only place of conflict and division right now so hopefully we can learn more about how we can be a part of bringing peace not only to our own lives but to our nations and world.
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