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So, I’m wrong? Get over it.
Years ago I did transformational training with Senseis Jerome and Richard. I got out of it that we’re all thrown to dominate others by either being right or making others wrong. It’s our human design.
Dominating in that way is meaningless; it makes no difference in the bigger picture. When we accept its
inherent meaningless, we’re free to be and to create.
This meaninglessness way of being is a lesson on our journey. The journey requires dedication: give up being right; give up making others wrong. That becomes our Tao: Ying and Yang.
We fear being wrong in varying magnitudes. Being wrong rises “with a bullet” near the top of my fears list. Being called out or discovered as wrong terrifies me. The development of my fear of being wrong might have occurred somewhere between childhood and adulthood.
When I was a kid I invited life and it came to me. Life was continually awesome. I made countless mistakes. I was wrong hundreds of times and didn’t care. As long as I could shake it off or didn’t harm anyone, being wrong was no big deal. Maybe I learned something, or not. I was too busy looking for What’s next? Then at some juncture, admitting “I’m wrong” became the Big Deal.
Throughout our history, opposing sides have gone to war, attaching their lives to the outcome. Each side doesn’t just believe they’re right, they “know” they’re right, they are, in fact, “the chosen ones,” and never the twain shall meet. One side never admits, “Hey, maybe we’re wrong.” This mindset seemingly defines our experience of unresolved conflict from the very personal realm to a global scale.
Aikido founder O-Sensei said, “The way of the warrior is to reconcile the world.” Perhaps, before I can reconcile the world, I must first reconcile me, myself. O-Sensei said, “True victory is victory over oneself.” Now, that might occur more daunting than the prospect of war. Overcoming oneself certainly ain’t easy.
Werner Erhard contends that we really can’t locate the “I” we use in language. So what does it mean to say, “I’m wrong?” Life is the game we play. Werner offers: What if “I” is a token in the game of life, your personal placeholder like the Scottie Dog in Monopoly. Rather, “I” is your online gamer’s avatar in life. Yeah, I’m surrendering to my age.
“I’m wrong,” means virtually nothing. Remember “I” is just a token. More profoundly, “being wrong” has nothing to do with what goes on internally with me nor does it have anything to do with what goes on internally with others. So I experience being wrong? Get over it. Life’s a game. Roll the dice.
Be right. Be wrong. We’re both lightness and darkness. So what if I’m right? So what if I’m wrong? Is being right or wrong really going to matter when my life is complete? My tombstone might read, “Jon was right for the most part…” No. In dedicating to making a difference in life, I shall experience being right and being wrong.
Life is balance. Sometimes we achieve. Then we move on. Sometimes we fail. Then we move on. To be greater than the you that you know yourself to be is defined in both achievement and failure. Discover and evolve from either.
Basketball All-Pro Kobe Bryant said that the path of becoming greater is “as much about fear as it is about love.” You inevitably unconceal your fear, revealing the greater within you. You dare beyond sameness. You endure and persevere with the love of others, and your compassion for you.
Kobe said, “It’s not easy. If it were, we’d all be lions.” Yeah, becoming greater than you know yourself to be ain’t easy. Well, seldom do the things that matter. So practice. Train. Listen to your Sensei. Have faith in what’s possible. Have faith in yourself. It’s about the love. You already knew that.
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Photo credit: Pixabay