Wisdoms from the Journey - Vol III (Sep - Oct 2011)

To be naïve …
(10/30/2011)
“I’m guilty of extraordinary naiveté, I suppose.
And yet it’s a naiveté that I really don’t want to abandon,
not even now.” ~ Jock Sturges
From a very early age, we are all steeped in a culture that encourages
us to “be informed” -- that we might then “act more wisely” and thereby
“live more safely”. Of course, the price we pay for adhering to these norms
is a loss of the very things that make us truly special as a species — We
forget our ability to see new solutions to old problems; we forget our ability
to pause and be amazed at the innate Beauty of life; we forget our ability to
actively Care for others when we least wish to do so.
And yet even though we might have forgotten these Gifts, they are
still alive & well within us. We CAN choose to be open-minded and see a
different way of responding to fear & pain. We CAN choose to rebel against
the grain of all things “responsible” and “prudent” in order to give Love a
try. We CAN choose to be “humble as a child” and simply believe in the
power of Kindness — even though all those around us might call us
“unrealistic” or “irresponsible” or even “crazy”.
In essence, we can choose to believe in the power of Love. As Love
is the only response that the fearful truly fear, it is Love that is the only
response that actually works. As such, instead of choosing to fight back with
anger & indignation, we can choose differently the next time around … we
can choose to respond to hatred with Forgiveness, to aggression with Peace,
and to injustice with Compassion.
In essence, we can choose to be naive once again …
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