Comments on: idiots, cultivating openness

By: Just Enough and Nothing More » Blog Archive » Don’t Listen to Idiots

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:16:37 +0000

[...] This post was inspired by: Idiots, cultivating openness [...]

By: Leah

Leah — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:29:21 +0000

Thank you.

What a valuable reminder.

By: bharathi

bharathi — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:34:23 +0000

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach ... It is not only right once a day...

By: Travis

Travis — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:38:08 +0000

Great post, Danielle. Reminded me of a relative, if not corollary, experience to this topic that had a profound effect on me. I'd just finished reading Edward Said's Orientalism. What I thought I knew and understood had been systematically flipped/turned upside down and pulled inside out. I mentioned my personal angst and intellectual storm in dealing with the internal chaos that ensued with a kid working at the library. His reply? "Yeah, sometimes it sucks to have your paradigms shattered." His voice was blase but his point struck a chord. From that moment on I have attempted to revel in the chaos that manifests just after having a "paradigm shattered". Like Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense." Cheers!

By: Jules

Jules — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:21:42 +0000

Another thought on this. (To add to my stilted sounding comment earlier, - I'm going through a lot of health and other traumatic probs that make my life like wading through treacle). I'm not obsessive about astrology, but I've found it a useful tool in various ways. One thing is that it can possibly deepen one's understanding of , and openness to, the many different viewpoints in life. A brilliant , now sadly departed , astrologer here in the UK , Charles Harvey, used to say, 'They would say that, wouldn't they!'As Danielle or anyone here may know , people's ways of looking at things tend, very broadly, to be shown in the chart, including our own areas of skepticism/criticism, self -belief, openness and so on. To some extent it has helped me be more open (ok ,I feel I'm innately pretty open!) to how differently people approach life and their views, problems and strengths. The 'bozo' may be struggling with countless painful wounds and disadvantages from an early age that you'll never know about or experience....the only thing I won't defend is if he sets out to hurt. However , maybe I can be just as judgemental at first sight of someone at times myself.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 04:43:06 +0000

Truths have always been found from unexpected sources.
This is not new.
I'm amazed at the narrow-mindedness of people who experience an ah-ha moment more from the source than from the truth itself ???
Also, stating the obvious can sometimes push you towards the thoughts of "have I missed something here ?" - Ans: No, it really was that obvious, just dressed up a little.

By: Lee-Anne

Lee-Anne — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:42:00 +0000

Love this post. What a different world we'd live in if we could do just that. Makes me think of how much I learned from recently working with some women in Uganda (one of whom was working while having an active case of malaria).

Cheers to the new year and the openness it can bring.

By: Hänni

Hänni — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:59:28 +0000

What a great reminder to be open minded and inquisitive!

By: Tara Starling

Tara Starling — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:32:57 +0000

Gorgeous! In addition to the possibility of discovering a new facet of truth which may have slipped through the cracks of our own ego, to engage openly and honestly with "the idiot" presents us with the precious gift of rediscovering our own truth. Under the contrasting lens of opposing thought, we see more clearly--if we indulge ourselves the time to stop the marching beat of our sovereign agenda for a few moments--the origins and implications of our own truth. Then it becomes a living thing inside us once more, and not just a dogma we wear stubbornly like an old frayed sweater we refuse to wash, for fear it will fray out. And the tensile strength of our own convictions really can only ever be quantified but when juxtaposed against the inverse reflection. So, I say thank God for the "idiot," and may there always be one close enough to keep me true about my truth.

By: Tara Starling

Tara Starling — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:17:51 +0000

Exactly where we were created to be. Imagine that. Delicious!