Right Way Or Your Way?

“Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance, but hostile to anyone who points it out.” -Plato, The Allegory of the Cave

“Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light” -Plato, The Allegory of the Cave

Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plants are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.

Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail. -Verse 76, Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

When I step into the light
My arms are open wide
When I step into the light
My eyes searching wildly -song, “Lie In Our Graves” by Dave Matthews Band

What do we do when confronted with incontrovertible facts and evidence that run contrary to our prior assertions and beliefs? Or when we’re shown a new and more effective way of doing something? A way that makes things better for ourselves and the people we seek to serve.

Do we double down on our ego and ignorance? Stick with what we’ve always done? Remain in the cave.

Or are we grateful to learn something new? To be shown the light and then move towards it.

If you want to remain soft and supple and alive, then you must constantly embrace beginner’s mind.