open/close dilemma
sometimes, in life, things are easier when we close our minds to certain options, and work within those artificial constraints. it gives our life better direction when we do so, and sometimes makes certain adjustment processes easier. but, and here's the problem - that kind of closed-ness is an obstacle for the course of spiritual development. in general, any time we close ourselves to possibilities, i think that we limit a dimension of personal growth.
so, despite the hardness of it, we should continually check ourselves when we find that we're closing ourselves to options, or closing options to ourselves. the world can only be assimilated when we become one with it - with all of it. and so it is incumbent upon us to keep our minds open - at all times, all places. it can only do us good, in the long run.
so, despite the hardness of it, we should continually check ourselves when we find that we're closing ourselves to options, or closing options to ourselves. the world can only be assimilated when we become one with it - with all of it. and so it is incumbent upon us to keep our minds open - at all times, all places. it can only do us good, in the long run.
5 comments:
this is really beautiful and oh so true. closed-ness, as you say, definitely hampers our spiritual development, whereas openness is absolutely essential for growth. how can we receive the sun's light if we aren't turned to receive its rays? how admirable to seek openness, then, even in times of difficulty.
The other side:
A tree needs to be pruned for it to grow better.Flower plants are pinched off to remove the extra buds so that the blooms are better, bigger and healthier. Meaningless growth in all directions leaves you no where.
meaningless growth in all directions is certainly pointless. however i think 8&20's point was slightly different - it is not that one should actively seek to do everything possible in life, or grow in all directions. but the point is that at any particular stage in life, faced with a certain set of circumstances, one should be open to all possibilities in terms of potential directions of growth. ultimately of course one will choose a particular route and then put all of one's efforts into it. but one should not have preconceived notions about the truth, or allow personal prejudices to prevent one from accepting certain options.
Also, though growth in all directions is meaningless, growth along all spiritual dimensions is not - and so the pruning occurs at the level of figuring out what the quality of the growth is, in terms of its material/spiritual nature.
nikhil puts it succinctly. i am not (in theory) opposed to pruning, or focusing energy in one particular direction of growth. but at every point, only if we are aware of all possible paths of growth, can we indeed make an informed decision regarding the best avenue for growth. if the pruning of the tree was not considered an option, would the tree necessarily grow to its full potential.
in fact, growth can be brought about in very counter-intuitive ways as well... as your example of the pruning shows. so we should keep ourselves open to all options, and assess them all for optimal long-term benefit.
"The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." -Charles DuBois
This quote came to mind as I was walking to the library on my lunch hour; it made me also think of your post... for the ability to sacrifice where we are in the present for our the potential of what we can become seems inherently related to openness. Unless we are open to being proven wrong, to discovering the depth of our latent capacities, to seeing with new eyes, to new possibilities... unless we are open to such things we will never be able to sacrifice where we are in the present for what we can become in the future. We'd instead get stuck. Does that make sense? Thoughts on this?
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