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Today's
Meditation:
I
used to dislike The Simpsons. I had never seen
an entire episode of the show, but I had heard and seen
enough to be sure that I didn't like it. Then I
watched a couple of episodes all the way through, and I was
amazed at just how funny and clever the show actually
was. I was also amazed at just how closed-minded and
limited I had been to reject a show that I had never
seen. I've done this with other things, too, including
movies, music, people, authors, websites--you name it.
I've later been proven wrong in my judgment and willingness
to reject something due to first impressions.
Have
you ever suggested something that you know to be wonderful
to someone else, only to have that person say, "I'm not
interested in that"? It can be one of the most
frustrating things in the world because you know just what
that person is missing, and you know that it's great.
But they won't have anything to do with it.
Do
we do that ourselves, though? Even if we aren't
reacting to another person's suggestion, don't we reject
things because it's not in our field of interest? How
many great learning experiences do we miss out on because we
keep our interests artificially narrow, and how often do we react to
things that are different or somehow threatening by keeping
them out, pushing them away from us, at least mentally if
not physically?
We
don't have to be interested in everything. I truly
don't care who wins the next NASCAR race or the NBA
championship, but I do know enough about both sports to be
able to understand a conversation that I might be a part
of. Many people in the world are interested in such
things, and if I can at least understand where they're
coming from without being judgmental, then we have a
touchpoint, something in common that will allow us to make
at least some sort of contact.
Keeping
our interests wide and varied keeps us wide and varied, and
opens up many doors that otherwise would be closed.
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