Attitudes And Openness

A door is an interesting object. It keeps things in, keeps them out or lets them pass through. Once you have learned how to open one door, you basically know how to open any door. Wherever you go in the world, you take with you the knowledge of how to open and close doors. You also take the knowledge of how to have a closed or open mind.

Of course, a door must be either open or closed. It can be open a little or open a lot, yet it cannot be open and closed at the same time. The same principle applies to your mind, to your openness to new ideas, or ways of looking at the world. A closed door is a closed door. Nothing can pass through it except by force, which causes irreparable damage. The door to your mind is another name for your attitude toward new things. Like a door, you have an attitude that is open or closed.

A closed mind is the key ingredient in the recipe for unhappiness. Change is constant in the world. Nothing remains the same forever. We are constantly learning, growing, changing, evolving. I am not the same as I was ten years ago, and neither are you. We may like to pretend we are, and the truth that we aren't sometimes hurts.

What does it mean to be open, to take a chance, to expose yourself to the vagaries of life? It doesn't mean believing in fate or having nothing more tangible than hope. It means saying to yourself "I intend." Something magical happens when you say this and mean it. Life provides you with a helping hand, and brings you, from out of the blue, the people and situations that aid you in your cause. Carl Jung called this synchronicity.

Remember, nothing passes through a closed door except by force; perhaps a lot of force, depending on the circumstances. Consequently, nothing can pass through the door of the closed mind except by force as well. Sometimes we call this fate. Openness of mind means cultivating an attitude of believing there are other ways besides the ones we presently embrace as truth. Truth is a relative thing; as any therapist, counselor, judge or police officer can tell you from their experiences.

Openness is a willingness to risk, to allow the winds of change to blow fresh awareness into our lives. Openness means understanding that everyone has their own viewpoint, every viewpoint is valid and one isn't more right than another. Just because someone else believes they are right doesn't make you wrong. It simply means they have a different viewpoint.

People who practice open minded-ness live longer, have better health and experience less stress than those who are close minded. As with anything in life, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Ponder on the doors of your mind. Are they open or closed? If open, how much? If closed, how come? Are they open enough, or open too much?

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