The Two Faces of Doubt

Doubt is a funny thing. We often times doubt ourselves. Doubt we are capable of what we say we are. Doubt we know what we think we know. Doubt we can accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves. Doubt we can live up to other peoples expectations.




This kind of doubt can be a huge issue if we don't get it under control. I'm not saying that we should always hold our heads up and if we try real hard we'll persevere. If any of you have met me, you know I'm not that guy. I'm simply saying that when it comes to our own abilities and knowledge, our own drive, our own lives; no ones knows us better than we know ourselves. If you have doubts about yourself, examine those doubts, and find out why you have them. Most of the time you'll realize that those doubts are misguided. You are capable of doing what you say you would. You do know what you think you know. You can accomplish your goals for yourself. You don't need to live up to other peoples expectations, you only need to live up to your own.




This is not the funny thing about doubt. The funny thing about doubt is that we rarely doubt other people. We may not always believe 100% of what we hear, but when it comes to doubting others, to challenging what we are being told or shown, we more times than not take the "experts" word on things. But these are the times we need to doubt most.




Now again, don't take literally every word I say here. We don't have to assume everybody and everything is wrong or lying to us or some sort of snake in the grass who's trying to get us. All I'm saying is that when we are presented with information, whether it be facts, answers to personal questions, information regarding what a person will and will not accomplish, we need to take a look at that information and see what we know about it. Research it further, find out how that fits in to what we already know, find out how that fits into our personal philosophy, and make our own decisions based on the information given to us. If we do this we will find that when it comes to other people, the situation is rarely black and white. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes they are misguided. Sometimes they understand what we're going through better than we do. One thing we can usually count on though is that most of the time, they'll surprise us.




Like I said, doubt is a funny thing. It can be a huge liability, or a great asset. We just have to teach ourselves the ability to identify the good doubt from the bad doubt and be able to react to it when we see it.

"Our Own Heart is Our Temple"

Quite some time back, I got ordained through an online ordination service. I didn't do it out of piety or out of a desire to start a church, I had done it because I was at home with the kids and got bored. Lately thought, I've been thinking about that. About what it means to minister. What it means to be a reverend. And what it amounts to, for me, is little more than what I do here in this blog. For me, it comes down to noticing something about the world at large, sharing my thoughts on the matter with those who are willing to listen, and holding an open discussion on what exactly the implications of those thoughts are.


I don't generally have the right answers. Nor do I ever feel that my answers are the only answers. But what I do feel is that I am occasionally on to something that might in some way effect the human experience in some small way, and that this is my outlet for sharing these thoughts. And as much talking as I do about what I feel being human is all about, I try to do at least that much listening. The world is my congregation, and my minister, all at the same time. I am all the time reaching out into what the world has put before me and taking away what I can use to make me a better person, and then I come back here and find a way to articulate (however sloppily) those thoughts to you, not to tell you to change your life, not to tell you you're doing it wrong, but to tell you how I perceive the world, and how I have grown as a person.


The Dalai Lama once said "There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; my philosophy is kindness."


We don't need to go and learn everything about any given religion and all the rituals and rites that go with that. We need to learn to be better people. We need to learn to constantly be growing and developing as human beings, and looking to positively impact the world we live in. I'm not saying that I am the one to lead us down that path. I'm simply saying that we can take our learning from anything and everything around us, not just from a minister or a sage or a rabbi or a witch doctor, but from experiences, our own and the experiences of others, and use that to mold ourselves into what we perceive "goodness" to be. Inspiration is all around us, we just have to be receptive to it.