Hello Internet-
So, while I say my farewells and bags are packed- it has sunk in. I leave tomorrow morning for Ecuador. Scared shitless but yet SO excited! With that- tonight will be my last post/lesson until about July 10th.
What to say- opinions. We all have them all, but how do we use them? Normally when we have opinions we tend to get passionate about them. We tend to get an attitude because we want people to see things from how we see them. We have been taught that wrong is bad, so our opinions should be right.
"When Things Fall Apart" by Pema Chodron says, "cultivating nonaggression is cultivating peace." Why do we get so defensive when someone attacks our ideals, morals, or opinions? I mean we all think differently therefore we all have different opinions, so what is wrong with that? Like Pema says, "we have a lot of opinions, and we tend to take them as truth. But actually they aren't truth. They are just our opinions. We have a lot of emotional backup for these opinions. They are often judgmental or critical; they're sometimes about how nice or perfect something is."
But let's keep in mind...
"Opinions are opinions, nothing more or less. We can begin to notice them, and we can begin to label them as opinions, just as we label thoughts as thoughts. Just by this simple exercise we are introduced to the notion of egolessness. All ego really is, is our opinions, which we take to be solid, real, and the absolute truth about how things are."
So, I ask you Internet- what is so important about these opinions that we hold on to them so dearly? Why can't we all just be open to other people's ideas, and possibly adapt ours to theirs.
There is a lot in this world that we are unaware of- and if we hear other opinions- another door may be opened that we never saw before. Facts is something we learn in school- but what we need to realize, is these opinions or thoughts are what we learn from experience. From taking those facts and applying them to life- that is how we form our opinions.
AND- Since I have said in previous posts, everyone experiences things differently, everyone will hold different ideas, but what is wrong with that? Think about it: the more opinions we are exposed to the more we grow as a human being- there is NOTHING wrong with that.
On that note- think about this quote- "I want to taste and glory in each day, and never be afraid to experience pain; and never shut myself up in a numb core of non-feeling, or stop questioning and criticizing life and take the easy way out. To learn and to think; to think and live; to live and learn: this always, with new insight, new understanding, and new love." From The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath.
The point of that quote is open your mind. Do not be so closed off to others opinions, because you will open up new insights, new understandings, and new love. And if you don't believe me Internet- once I opened up my mind and started listening to other people's thoughts, I ended up with an amazing man, I found new understandings, new insights, and like I just said new love.
So- if those are the things you are looking for, than what are you waiting for?
-Miss Optimistic
P.S.- I hope everyone has a great month! I will be back before you know it :-)
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