Being open-minded means that we
are willing to question everything, including those things we take for granted.
A lot of people feel threatened if they feel they are being asked to question their cherished beliefs or their perception of reality. Yet questioning is what keeps our minds supple and strong. Simply settling on one way of seeing things and refusing to be open to other possibilities makes the mind rigid and generally creates a restrictive and uncomfortable atmosphere. We all know someone who refuses to budge on one or more issues, and we may have our own sacred cows that could use a little prodding. Being open-minded means that we are willing to question everything, including those things we take for granted.
A willingness to question everything, even things we are sure we are right
about, can shake us out of complacency and reinvigorate our minds, opening us
up to understanding people and perspectives that were alien to us before. This
alone is good reason to remain inquisitive, no matter how much experience we
have or how old we get. In the Zen tradition, this willingness to question is
known as beginner's mind, and it has a way of generating possibilities we
couldn't have seen from the point of view of knowing something with certainty.
The willingness to question everything doesn't necessarily mean we don't
believe in anything at all, and it doesn't mean we have to question every
single thing in the world every minute of the day. It just means that we are
humble enough to acknowledge how little we actually know about the mysterious
universe we call home.
Nearly every revolutionary change in the history of human progress came about
because someone questioned some time-honored belief or tradition and in doing
so revealed a new truth, a new way of doing things, or a new standard for
ethical and moral behavior. Just so, a commitment to staying open and
inquisitive in our own individual lives can lead us to new personal revolutions
and truths, truths that we will hopefully, for the sake of our growth, remain
open to questioning.
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