One of the most personally satisfying aspects of inner silence for me has been developing the ability to let someone be wrong without necessarily feeling like i'm obligated to respond to them or "set them straight." I've always had a mind that is quite efficient at collecting facts and data and being able to regurgitate them at will. With so many people in the world living with their heads in the sand, there are PLENTY of opportunities to win a debate.
There used to be something inside me that would jump at the opportunity to give my 2-cents, or correct a falsified "fact". I remember finding myself literally shaking in the presence of misinformation, or just downright ignorance; In fact, I still do feel this way sometimes. I would get a surge of adrenaline that far exceeded the severity of the situation. Much like one you would get when confronted with a fight or some other physical danger.
Eventually I learned how to take those situations and transmute them into learning experiences and opportunities to advance spiritually/emotionally. Every time I would have the desire to correct someone, or enter into some sort of debate with someone, I would attempt to identify my own egotistical investment in whatever idea or outcome I would be "arguing" for. Usually this dissolved the tension significantly. Or at least it showed me that what I believed to be true was not actually based on as solid ground as I first thought.
I still have intense reactions to certain things in my mind, but I'm becoming more and more able to let things pass by without engaging them. Cultivating a non-reactive mind, I guess you could say.
These are the kinds of things that provide me with the inspiration to keep practicing.
Letting someone be "wrong"
Posted - Dec 23 2010 : 10:24:56 AM
