Often, probably more than two options open up for us...
I have pondered about the content I've published in this blog, and in my reflections, I have observed a period during which the content was starting to become polarized, due to a polarization that began happening in my own mind. I guess sometimes we need to go to extremes, in order to learn a valuable life lesson.
The potential blessing of such a painful period of going to an extreme (for surely it impacts our inner peace) is that when we do return to centre, we stand the chance of being more firmly rooted there and with greater maturity, and wisdom.
The things I publish are from now on (more than before) intended to be reflections and not conclusions (unless based on poetic speculation or scientific evidence). Thought experiments, and not mandates or doctrines. I personally get turned off when people proclaim their ideas and speculations as certain, and boldly make claims against this or against that, especially when these claims are outrageous and they are seeking "converts" to their viewpoint. I am learning to discover ways to challenge my own viewpoints without feeling like I would be somehow worse off if I adjust my beliefs. For example, I now question a lot of the criticism directed toward Obama as being blind and at the same time, I think there is always legitimate concern about any political leader that should be expressed, in order to hold them accountable. But honestly, is it a valuable use of our time and energy to focus on others (especially through speculation), when all we can really change is ourselves (our own thoughts, words, and deeds), and when even that needs to progress at a patient and accepting pace? Can we really prove anything about Obama's intentions to ourselves, even with all the material that is out on the Internet? Can we verify this material in and of itself?
In other words, can I bring the weight of verification of truth to what I myself am claiming?
This does not mean that we should avoid political participation or inquiry into uncomfortable realities. But humanity's experience shows that individuals who have integrity (self-honesty and inner harmony) can influence others, and those who push too far into uncomfortable realities can get sucked into them, lose their sense of humour and patience, and become antagonistic (thus self-perpetuating a sense of paranoia about "others" and lamenting of not being understood or others "getting it").
Each human being is struggling to understand historical and contemporary contexts and threads of meaning (or loss of meaning), both within the realm of their individual existence and their social, economic, and spiritual membership in the many layers of the community of humanity. And it seems that in our noble drive for understanding and clarity, we come face to face with the arrogance (blindness and false self-assuredness) of some of our thoughts from time to time.
It seems that nothing that we human beings can adequately grasp is set in stone. Our understanding of ourselves and the universe keeps fluctuating. This is not because the principles of creation change, but because our perception keeps (painstakingly) expanding.
Not being attached to our beliefs or the doctrines of anyone else is a freeing thing, but is not an easy thing. So let's have compassion for each other's arrogance, because it is a reflection of our own.
It's so easy to think that one knows, when one does not really know at all.
