Being in balance with what we believe is one of the most certain signs we believe what we say. Have you ever met someone who professes to believe in a particular theology, but when you ask them questions about their beliefs they get very defensive? This is a sure sign they are not in balance with what they say they believe. What this reveals is they themselves are uncertain about the theology, and they don’t want you to glimpse the depths of their own uncertainty.
The same thing applies to peoples views of what they view to be their constitutional rights. Ask for a further explanation and the door slams shut.
How we get out of balance
So much of what we believe are not beliefs we have developed through careful research and soul-searching. When we examine what we say we believe it frequently becomes obvious to ourselves that what we have done is adopted someone else’s ideas. When we are forced to explain (rather than defend) our views there is no substance to be found. All we can rely upon is parroting what we have heard. When this happens we have only a few choices. We can get loud defending that view, we can get angry, or we can admit we have done no thinking on the subject. None of these options are tremendously attractive.
The power of “I don’t know
For most of us, to admit that we don’t know, or have not thought something through is a frightening proposition. We have an ingrained fear of being through of as foolish and weak. What we forget is, to admit we don’t know takes far more energy and integrity than defending a foolish, nonsensical position. Being able to listen to other ways of thinking about a topic displays a trust in ourselves that even the loudest argument can provide.
It really is all about you, how you think about yourself. Read It’s All About Me and get some great tools to get in balance. Begin by clicking on the cover below for a sample read, then order your own copy.
