|
Today's
Meditation:
How little we tend to value ourselves! How often
we think that others are smarter than we are, know more
than we do, are more capable than we are, are able to deal
with adversity better than we are. I think that this
tendency comes from the ways that we look at our own
ignorance-- we're all ignorant of almost everything in this
world except our tiny field of personal knowledge, yet
somehow we think that others understand better than we do.
But what if we do what Shunryu suggests, and we come to
understand ourselves? What if we truly try to figure
out our motivations, our desires, the ways that we act in
relationships? What if we learn the truth about why
we're so defensive sometimes (just what is our fear?), or
why we have a hard time letting go of control in certain
situations (just what need are we trying to
fulfill?). When we can understand these things, we
can understand other people, also, for we're all quite
similar when all is said and done.
When I can understand my own fears, I can recognize when
another person is afraid, and perhaps help that
person. When I understand that I have a need to make
myself look good to other people, I can recognize that
trait in others, and perhaps even work away from it
myself. When I understand my own prejudices and
judgmental tendencies, I can become more tolerant of those
of other people when I understand them better-- and maybe I
can even help them to work through their prejudices and
biases.
This world is huge, and when we try to understand too many
things that we see as fragmented and separate, we become
overwhelmed. We know the truth about ourselves,
though, whether we admit that truth or not. And when
we come to grips with those truths and understand
ourselves more clearly, we can finally give ourselves a
chance to understand everything about the world that
exists in perfect unity, for we'll finally see ourselves
as being connected to the whole clearly and completely.
|
