Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.
I think it was Einstein who said that, but I could be wrong. Doesn’t matter, it sounds good.
These days we live in a culture of fear: fear in classroom, in the boardroom, at work, in society, sometimes even at home. But what are we afraid of?
Here’s a list of fears:
– fear of failure
– fear of criticism
– fear of ridicule
– fear of sickness
– fear of loss
– fear of old age
– fear of death
The list just goes on. You name it, and our minds can find a way to fear it.
Bottom line, we are afraid of the truth.
Why? Because it destroys the story we have created for ourselves. It shakes up the cocoon of complacency we spin around ourselves.
That’s what I like about one of my clients – Byron Katie. She is fearless. Nothing that happens in the world seems to daunt her. So how do you live without fear? Where would you be without your fear, as KT might say?
If you weren’t afraid, what would you do? What actions would you take? Well, go ahead and do it. Accept the consequences. Life is too short to be scared.
Recently I got in trouble with a client when I told them I didn’t like something they were patting themselves on the back about. I knew that my criticism could end my relationship with the client. And yet I did it anyway. Why? Because in the long run, the truth now is better than truth later. Better to hurt a few feelings now than to let the marketplace hurt the client later. And if the client doesn’t understand, that’s fine too. I accept the consequences.
Wasn’t it Blake who said: “opposition is true friendship”? Maybe that’s going too far.