There's an experiment I would ask you to try, a game I would ask that you play:
For two weeks toss the words 'right' and 'wrong' from your thinking and vocabulary, and instead use the words ... 'more useful' and 'less useful'.
It's not that's it's right or wrong to use the words 'right' and 'wrong', it's just that it's of more use to frame things through the lens of 'more useful' and 'less useful'.
Regardless of the justifications which may arise causing you to question the inherent intelligence of this, the benefits of doing so will become clearly apparent once you have cultivated the habit.
Oh, and while you're at it, when listening to others, mentally do the same to the words they use.
How fortunate I was when I met you Paul. How pleased I am that I embraced these changes in my life. It was a huge relief to me and my sense of balance, when I stopped looking at everything in terms of right and wrong. It helped me to be kinder to myself and then it helped me to me more compassionate and understanding toward other people. I did go through a period of confusion for a while after I started to be aware of how I was mentally labeling everything right or wrong and then once I understood how much more helpful it was to me to ask myself 'is it helpful or unhelpful?'. I have freed myself up to stop judging not only others but also myself and given myself permission to understand why I do what I do instead of playing judge and usually jury as well.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully put and thank you for 'playing the game'. It's about creating space. Right and wrong although utilitarian leaves no space for anything else, except the one right, which in nearly all cases is ... not useful ;)
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