Let's close our eyes.
One of the things that is a byproduct of going through meditations like these is that you get flexible,
Nimble in your mind,
In your thinking most of the times,
In most aspects of our life.
We are set in our own ways.
Your political affiliation,
The kind of food you eat is all set.
The activities you like to do,
The activities you don't do,
The kind of movies,
What you do during the day,
How do you engage with your friends,
Family.
It's all set early on.
How deliberately you show up in life,
At work,
In your family has been consciously or unconsciously decided long time ago.
It's like set it and forget it.
But with the contemplations we do here.
The fact that you deliberately take time out of your day to sit down,
Close your eyes and listen to someone else speak demonstrates that you are open to receiving while you are sitting down here.
The nimbleness of our thinking and our mind,
The prerequisite for that is this openness.
Most of the time,
Most of us being set in our own ways,
We sneakily check out if things become either uncomfortable or what is being said,
Shown or demonstrated goes against any of those decisions that we have made early on in our life.
We just check out mentally.
This checking out the prerequisite for that is being closed.
I don't agree with this,
So I'm going to venture off into thinking or zone out.
Are we vehemently fight for,
Defend our point of view?
Our point of view is no more than a decision that we have made a long time ago.
But if we can come from this openness,
There might be a doubt.
There might be a doubt about whatever we are so damn sure about.
Maybe there is a different way of seeing things.
Maybe there is a different way of seeing things.
Maybe there is a different way of seeing things.
Another surety,
Absolute certainty that we have is about ourselves.
This is who I am.
This is what I believe in.
If I asked you when you were a teenager and we took a snapshot of what you considered as this is who I am.
This is what I believe in.
This is what I like.
This is what I dislike.
And we took a snapshot of this is who I am now.
I'm going to take a leap of faith and claim that there'll be very little overlap.
The hairstyle,
The kind of clothes you wore,
The kind of music you heard,
Everything was drastically different.
20 years from now,
We will look back on our snapshot of our beliefs today and probably smile about being so sure.
And my question is,
Why insist on the certainty that this is who I am when it's been our experience that most parts of us are constantly evolving.
A little flexibility might let us see it in the moment that we are going to see anyways 20 years from now.
A little flexibility would make us empathetic.
To people who think differently,
Who look differently,
Who feel differently,
Because our way is not the absolute way.
Not to mention we don't have our own way.
Our way is evolving as well.
So we can cooperate so that it would evolve intentionally in a direction which is more intelligent,
More kind,
Broader,
Deeper,
Inclusive,
Enthusiastic,
Empowering to us and to people around us.
It will make us more alert and alive in conversations where things that we may not agree with are being spoken.
We won't check out.
We'll be okay being uncomfortable.
We might be inspired by people,
By situations,
By events,
Mundane situations,
Mundane events.
Most of the time mundane events are off our radar.
Someone working at the grocery store.
They're completely oblivious to their existence,
To notice their smile or their pain even,
Or their shyness,
Or their social awkwardness.
Yes,
It may sound like a difficult thing to do.
That's the price to pay in order to lead a conscious,
Intentional life.
For someone who has decided that they want to become healthy and fit,
They'll have to put their body through uncomfortable exercises,
Lifting weights,
Running,
Bicycling,
Or doing yoga.
Take time out from our day,
Pay money,
And so many other intangible costs to lead a healthy life.
If you ask a person who is leading this life,
Is it worth it?
What do you think they're going to say?
Is being open hard?
Is being intentional difficult?
Is engaging with our surroundings and our community and our conversations difficult?
Absolutely.
Very difficult.
That's the choice we have.
That's the freedom we have.
To decide whether is it worth that cost?
And if we don't pay this cost,
We are paying another cost.
It's just that it's easy.
We are used to paying that cost out of habit,
So it doesn't feel like a cost.
A little analysis will show us that,
Yeah,
It is a cost.
Being isolated,
Being rigid,
Being insecure,
Being afraid,
Feeling out of place even with our own people,
Disengaged at work,
Uninspired.
That's also a cost.
Exactly.
If we do decide to pay the higher cost of intelligence,
Of engagement,
That intentional choice will make us soft because we'll know how hard it was for us to make that choice,
How lucky we are to be courageous enough to make that choice.
And that'll kindle empathy,
Compassion within us for those who are not so courageous,
Empathy towards them.
It's a weird system where our courage makes us softer,
More tolerant.
Thank you.
