Wednesday, 17 May 2006
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Life Lesson #5
We are taught in life what to do and what we cannot do, what is right and what is wrong, what is appropriate and inappropriate. These things are good as it provides us a basis for our developing thoughts and attitudes, but at what point do we think for ourselves. It is arguable that even though we are taught all these things, it is the opinion of others: our parents, our friends, our culture, our societies, and our traditions. What then constitutes our own “proper” thought if our thoughts are molded by others?
This is when we must use discernment and objectivity. We must analyze how we think so that we can be sure it is our own thought and not an external influence. For only when we have tested a thought and know it to be true from our own conclusions, can we claim it as our own.
Now when we realize we are wrong, either in thought, or action, we tend to do the opposite of that initial action to rationalize doing something right. Maybe if someone had the initial tendency to steal in the past, they might give to people now. If someone used to be angry, they may outwardly express love to everyone. These are extreme cases, but it is the idea that matters. The idea that we are making up for past actions by doing the opposite now is not addressing who we are. We are replacing an action with another action and yet we are not addressing the source.
Rather by addressing the source, we do not dwell on the rights or the wrongs, the past and the future. All these things blend together when our self is looked upon. We no longer focus on the extremes nor fuel the vices. Good only exists if there is evil, and vice versa. To say that you are one, you still acknowledge the other. To acknowledge the coexistence of both and knowing that they belong to one and the same, these divisions will eventually dissolve. Only then can the source be identified and understood.
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