How to be an Empty Cup
In the beginning you will fight the new groundbreaking, world flipping, knowledge that you stumble across. I still remember the way I felt when reading each new book afresh, still remember the way I reacted to being affronted with the wisdom within its pages. Some made my heart sing with joy - 'ah it all makes sense'. Others filled a hole within me - 'there are others who have thought/ felt/ seen/ known/ heard this too'. Some brought on denial from my ego self - 'that's so wrong'. In a few I 'smelt a rat'; I knew when the author was inauthentic somehow - those titles stood out like a sore thumb.
Each book I have read has built on the last, has given me new chunks of knowledge to digest, to accept, to implement, to apply to my life. Now I look back at the earliest titles and think 'well duh, that's so obivously true (to me)', but I didn't necessarily (or often) feel that way when I first read them. The funny thing is, even if you read something and completely disagree with it, your world view is still shifted for the new information. You find yourself questioning your previously set views of the world without even meaning to ('do they have a point?'), or stumbling across a situation that shows their theory to be sound and the one you've used all your life to be completely loopy.
That's the beauty of new knowledge, of learning - once exposed to new opinions and ideas, you automatically become more open minded whether you like it or not! We constantly review our surroundings and if new information is present, it can completely change the way we see the same view. It's no wonder we prefer to surround ourself with 'sameness' - people with the same opinions, the same beliefs, similar appearance, or a new job in the same field, or using the same skills, TV programmes that confirm what we already believe. The less new information we take in, the less our world view has to change to accomodate our updated knowledge; and the less we have to change to keep up.
Being adaptable is threatening. Needing to reinvent ourselves and our lives constantly is threatening. Of course the opposite is far more damaging in reality, and as Corine Bailey Rae reminds us "The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change" ~ Girl Put Your Records On. Trying to stay the same really is a form of self denial; as François de la Rochefoucauld said- "The only thing constant in life is change", denying it is only ever painful to you, and those around you.
Each book I have read has built on the last, has given me new chunks of knowledge to digest, to accept, to implement, to apply to my life. Now I look back at the earliest titles and think 'well duh, that's so obivously true (to me)', but I didn't necessarily (or often) feel that way when I first read them. The funny thing is, even if you read something and completely disagree with it, your world view is still shifted for the new information. You find yourself questioning your previously set views of the world without even meaning to ('do they have a point?'), or stumbling across a situation that shows their theory to be sound and the one you've used all your life to be completely loopy.
That's the beauty of new knowledge, of learning - once exposed to new opinions and ideas, you automatically become more open minded whether you like it or not! We constantly review our surroundings and if new information is present, it can completely change the way we see the same view. It's no wonder we prefer to surround ourself with 'sameness' - people with the same opinions, the same beliefs, similar appearance, or a new job in the same field, or using the same skills, TV programmes that confirm what we already believe. The less new information we take in, the less our world view has to change to accomodate our updated knowledge; and the less we have to change to keep up.
Being adaptable is threatening. Needing to reinvent ourselves and our lives constantly is threatening. Of course the opposite is far more damaging in reality, and as Corine Bailey Rae reminds us "The more you stay the same, the more they seem to change" ~ Girl Put Your Records On. Trying to stay the same really is a form of self denial; as François de la Rochefoucauld said- "The only thing constant in life is change", denying it is only ever painful to you, and those around you.