Holding lightly or Leaving the Echo-Chamber

I am very much a person of extremes. I either love something or I hate it. There is seldom an in-between for me, it is all or nothing. This was especially true when I was younger. At age 25 I had chosen my beliefs, both politically and spiritually. I was genuinely convinced that those beliefs would never change and moreover that they should not change. In my utter naivety, I thought I had found the ultimate and unchangeable truth.

Looking back now I marvel at the strange mixture of innocence and arrogance. I loved to learn, but only about those things I already knew or believed. In fact, I was so fastidious about guarding my 'boundaries'  that a few years ago when a friend gifted me with a book by theologian Timothy Keller I first contacted my good friend, Rudi, to enquire if he knew the author's work and whether it was alright for me to read. 

Looking back now I realize what I was really asking was: "Will this book unsettle me? Will this author tell me something I do not want to know? Will the subject matter challenge or trigger me? Because if it does any of this I'm not up for it." I didn't say all this, of course, but those questions were at the root of my inquiry. I was afraid, I realize that now, afraid of my unchangeable truths being challenged. I was holding so tightly to my 'beliefs' precisely because I was unsure of myself and those beliefs.    

Before the lockdown kicked in a month or so ago I used to have coffee with a good friend once a week and often our chats turned to how easy it was to find oneself in an 'echo-chamber' where all our beliefs and opinions are merely regurgitated back to us again and again. Google, Facebook, and Youtube's algorithms assist us in creating these comfortable and safe bubbles where we only hear and see one point of view, our own.

A few weeks ago I came across an issue which caused me to take a cautious step out of my own heavily fortified echo-chamber. The results have been quite unexpected and more than a little jarring. I'm not going to tell you exactly what this issue was, suffice to say it is all the rage at the moment, and quite controversial to boot. My opinion about this issue in the past was almost inextricably and automatically linked to my political, quite liberal world view, so much so that I hardly ever considered why I held the views I had on this particular issue in the first place.

The long and short of it is that after much consideration my views on this particular issue have changed and quite drastically at that. I was shocked and found myself wondering: "If I could be wrong about this, how do I know I'm not wrong about everything else?"

Of course, once that question had been asked, I just had to know and I started to look more closely at what I believe and why. I also dared to listen to opposing points of view. I came away from the experience with the majority of my views intact, but with a deeper understanding of those who think differently from me. I no longer feel threatened by opposing views. When I took those steps outside my safe little bubble, purposely seeking the 'other' point of view, I did so with a listening posture instead of my usual defensive or combative stance.

I've learned not only that my opinions can change, but also that beliefs and opinions work better if I don't hold them in a death grip. Grasping at anything is always a red flag. Opinions are best held lightly, like a butterfly landing on an open palm, we should not close our fingers over it and try to hold it forever.  Instead, holding our palms open we leave room for the butterfly to flit away and come back again, we leave room for growth, inquiry, and the humbling reminder that we don't know it all and stepping out of our echo-chambers every now and then is good exercise.   

Regards

Freeda Moon