And Each Answer Is A Lie

a quote came up on my phone that made me stop and think.  it said something along the lines of "to question what you believe is one of the best gifts you can give yourself."  i wish that i had caught the name of the person who said or wrote that so i could investigate further.  over the next few days, i may pursue some online sleuthing to see what i can find out.  one of my favorite aphorisms is "to question is the answer."  in buddhism there is an approach that teaches us to test our beliefs, suggesting that if a belief is not reasonable it should be rejected.  we shouldn't accept anything on faith, if by "faith" we mean acceptance with little or no supporting evidence.

simply accepting something as truth with little reflection, investigation, or thought is dangerous.  "truth" is an ambiguous word.  it has little meaning.  what is true at one moment may not be true in the next.  what is true for one person may not be true for another.  we can often hold a "truth" and its opposite simultaneously, and both are equally "true."  in the darkest night, with the least light pollution, the skies shine brightest.  the deepest love can be the most dangerous sort of love when it leads to stifling the object of that love or an unhealthy desire to control and cling to that object.

as a disciple of jesus, i am constantly asking myself who jesus is/was.  his teachings, like those of the buddha, are so profound and thought-provoking that a lifetime of contemplating them and how to live by them is not enough.  as i think about questioning, i am reminded of his saying that whoever would be greatest must become least, whoever would be first must become last.  our thoughts are scary things, and, when we fail to examine them, we fall into the trap of believing they must be true.  we can never say with certainty that what we believe is the correct belief.  we must make room for uncertainty, for doubt, for ambiguity, even though our minds find these things uncomfortable.

may we remember that the only constant is change.  may we not cling to beliefs that may or may not be true but hold everything tenderly, without grasping tightly.  may we question fearlessly, never allowing ourselves to sink into a comfortable complacency.  may we make peace with ambiguity and uncertainty.  shalom.