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Hopw often have you shied away from saying the words, “I don’t know” when you are asked a question? Did you ever stop to realize that there is a certain wisdom in not knowing?

Let’s face it — no one knows everything. There’s always room for us to learn more. There’s always room in the glass for one more drop.

Even the famous people that have mastered the areas of mathematics, literature, psychology, art and yoga don’t know everything there is to know about their area of expertise.

Only when you are able to realize that you may not know as much as people may think you know, will you be able to find room in your “glass” for one more drop. There’s a sort of “freedom” in being able to say, “I don’t know the answer to that”. Once we admit to that, we automatically open up the opportunity to learn.

Have you come across anyone in your life who was a “know-it-all” type? Were you comfortable with them? People can actually end up appearing more foolish when they act as if they know something that they don’t.

It is wise to show great respect for people who admit they don’t know something. They are expressing an honesty to you. Admitting to not knowing is when you open new doors to the unknown — when you can start a journey into new levels of understanding.

The next time you “don’t know” — don’t fake it — don’t act like you do know — just shrug and say, “I really don’t know — but I’d sure like to learn the answer!”

~~~ DBL-R

Something that I find myself doing a lot lately, is saying, either aloud or to myself, “I hate that!” — or — “I hate him or her!”. As those hateful thoughts go through my mind, they are usually followed by the thought, “I shouldn’t be putting those vibes out there”.

One of the things I learned a long time ago is that when I feel the emotion of hatred in myself, that emotion is going to take a much larger toll on me than it is on the person or object that I’m hating. I know that within the deepest part of me — yet it’s an emotion that is difficult to overcome.

Because of the way our world is going these days, my strong feelings about violence versus peace are causing quite a turmoil within me. I see so many world leaders relying on violence to solve problems — and whenever you see violence being used — it is natural to associate that violence with hatred. One country hating another — one religious group hating another. Observing all of this causes feeling of anger and frustration.

I also know that there is only one emotion that can overpower hatred — and that is called love. Replacing feelings of enmity toward anything or anyone (including ourselves) with feeling of love can cause a dramatic change to take place. If you’re putting out vibrations of love toward something or someone, it is near impossible for hatred to penetrate. There just isn’t any room for hatred in a heart or mind filled with love. If we can love what we hate, we will be sending out an energy that is positive. If we can think of peace in the midst of violence those thoughts will move throughout the planet. We will be reinforcing loving, peaceful energy, rather than reinforcing the energy of violence and hatred.

Read the quotes from Gandhi again that are at the beginning of this article. They say the truth so much better than I can.

~~~ DBL-R

One of my rather enjoyable pastimes is to “people-watch”. Do any of you ever do that? It’s probably not a good thing to do, but what is amazing is how many different qualities you can see in others. The combinations of traits are seemingly innumerable.

But what is even more interesting is that most of those qualities we see in others are directly related to the traits that exist in us. It’s one of those laws of nature — we tend to attract people into our lives that mirror who we are. Those people that you take an instant liking to are really reflecting your inner self back at you. When you see beauty, divinity, sweetness, or light in the soul of another, you are seeing the goodness that resides in your soul. When you see traits in others that evoke feelings of anger, annoyance, or hatred, you may be seeing reflected back at you those parts of yourself that you have disowned or do not like.

When you think about this aspect of life, you can see that looking at the people you have attracted into your life can tell you a lot about yourself. This can be especially true when you see traits in others you don’t care for. It’s easy to see those traits in the other guy, but it’s a lot more difficult to understand that you very likely possess those same traits.

There’s no doubt that when you begin to look at yourself through your perception of others it can be an eye-opening experience as well as a humbling one. When you do see people with traits that you admire you can work on making that trait more apparent in your life. Be loving and respectful to all people, and you will attract individuals that will love and respect you back. Nurture compassion and empathy and let the goodness you see in others be your mirror.

~~~ DBL-R