Questioning
I remember a bumper sticker from my childhood that read simply "Question Authority". At the time I was all about "toeing the line" or following the rules, so I would scoff in my small mind at how unruly the driver of that car must be.
I remain just as quick as anyone to put others in boxes with very little information and with very little time having passed in getting to know them (or just avoid them). These boxes are our brains' way of categorizing for understanding. So to some extent it is natural and helpful. As a counselor, I attempt to refrain from placing my clients in tiny boxes. Luckily, I get to ask my clients any and all questions pertaining to their concerns so I learn a lot about their minds and how they process information often in a relatively short period of time.
Maybe that's why I'm not very social at parties. I make an effort to NOT counsel others when they aren't seeking it, so other social interactions can seem empty or shallow. I would like to share at a deeper level, but others aren't ready or willing to go there so I'm stuck with the boring subjects. Weather (just look outside). Sports (my waning interest for years has dropped to nearly nil). Kids (don't have any). Pop culture (people who sell their personalities and their souls just for money). Work (it's confidential).
When my friend, Tim, visited from California this past summer, we sat on the porch for over four hours and we talked late into the evening about spirituality and religion. We questioned tons of things we were taught from a young age, and while our parents would be appalled at our evolution: we were becoming.
Fundamentalists seem to abhor questioning. What's left to question when you have all of the answers? I'd rather be curious with questions than boring with answers. Questions keep our minds pliable. Paradoxes keep us imaginative. Mysteries are the mental floss that stop truth decay.
If I can't ask questions, I don't have a job. If I don't ask questions, I have an empty soul. Reaching for the sky sounds futile to some, but any time you grab something it's alive. The big questions don't always need an answer either. Just asking keeps you in the mental game. Ask and it will be given to you, but you may have to chew on it awhile.
Our culture seems to want easy answers; to go with the flow; to do it like we've always done it. There's always a better answer than yes or no. One of my favorite authors, Richard Rohr, would say the best answer is "yes, and...". That answer allows the conversation to continue while I add my perception without being a know-it-all.
So, why not question authority? If my tone is respectful and I ask in the name of learning, then I get to find out if the authority has thought the issue through or if the authority is just falling back on tradition. If I don't fear an answer that may come, then I don't have to hold back on the question. I'm happy to hear more questions posed to older generations who get steeped in tradition rather than thinking outside the box.
Even if my mind begins placing others in boxes, I want to be able to keep the box open so I can easily let others out. I need my questioning friends to help me become more open so we can find solutions that soul-sucking greed and trumped-up ego have ignored. I will question until the answers don't matter any more.
Paul Kolak
11/8/15
I remain just as quick as anyone to put others in boxes with very little information and with very little time having passed in getting to know them (or just avoid them). These boxes are our brains' way of categorizing for understanding. So to some extent it is natural and helpful. As a counselor, I attempt to refrain from placing my clients in tiny boxes. Luckily, I get to ask my clients any and all questions pertaining to their concerns so I learn a lot about their minds and how they process information often in a relatively short period of time.
Maybe that's why I'm not very social at parties. I make an effort to NOT counsel others when they aren't seeking it, so other social interactions can seem empty or shallow. I would like to share at a deeper level, but others aren't ready or willing to go there so I'm stuck with the boring subjects. Weather (just look outside). Sports (my waning interest for years has dropped to nearly nil). Kids (don't have any). Pop culture (people who sell their personalities and their souls just for money). Work (it's confidential).
When my friend, Tim, visited from California this past summer, we sat on the porch for over four hours and we talked late into the evening about spirituality and religion. We questioned tons of things we were taught from a young age, and while our parents would be appalled at our evolution: we were becoming.
Fundamentalists seem to abhor questioning. What's left to question when you have all of the answers? I'd rather be curious with questions than boring with answers. Questions keep our minds pliable. Paradoxes keep us imaginative. Mysteries are the mental floss that stop truth decay.
If I can't ask questions, I don't have a job. If I don't ask questions, I have an empty soul. Reaching for the sky sounds futile to some, but any time you grab something it's alive. The big questions don't always need an answer either. Just asking keeps you in the mental game. Ask and it will be given to you, but you may have to chew on it awhile.
Our culture seems to want easy answers; to go with the flow; to do it like we've always done it. There's always a better answer than yes or no. One of my favorite authors, Richard Rohr, would say the best answer is "yes, and...". That answer allows the conversation to continue while I add my perception without being a know-it-all.
So, why not question authority? If my tone is respectful and I ask in the name of learning, then I get to find out if the authority has thought the issue through or if the authority is just falling back on tradition. If I don't fear an answer that may come, then I don't have to hold back on the question. I'm happy to hear more questions posed to older generations who get steeped in tradition rather than thinking outside the box.
Even if my mind begins placing others in boxes, I want to be able to keep the box open so I can easily let others out. I need my questioning friends to help me become more open so we can find solutions that soul-sucking greed and trumped-up ego have ignored. I will question until the answers don't matter any more.
Paul Kolak
11/8/15
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