Let’s face it. We all have opinions just about everything. Having no opinion is almost like having no self, no existence! Take anything — a political situation, an economy of the country, a consumer product or people around us. Our opinions lead us to the choices we make in our lives. They shape our lives. It is impossible not to have an opinion about anything. Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone has opinions and as a matter of fact, all these blogging platforms are born out of our innate desire to express opinions.
Having an opinion is fine but what happens when we place the word STRONG prior to it?
This is where trouble arises sometimes. Often, having a very strong opinion shuts the mind. We lose the ability to listen the person on the other side. We get so fixated on our point of view that we fail to get a different perspective.We cling to our opinion as such we will die if proven wrong. The whole focus then shifts to prove the other person wrong. When we think that ONLY our opinion is right — unease and agitation arise. Trying to be right by making others wrong creates conflicts. The opinions then give rise to arguments. When we don’t have the urge to prove that ONLY what we think is right, we can voice our opinion with a sense of peace and there won’t be any defensiveness and aggressiveness present.
I have also come to realize that our opinions come with an expiry date. They are valid for certain period of time or only at one point of time. For e.g, I voice my opinion about a particular product and say this product is best in class and the superior product gets launched the very next day. I say this person is bad and suddenly that person goes through some radical transformation and makes my opinion of him/her invalid. The same can be true in reverse. The person I thought was good and I knew well can turn around and give me the shock of my life! Same with events and situations — Events that occurred in past which appeared to be the worst thing happened, may now look like the best thing happened to you. Like everything around us, our opinions about things, situations and people also change with time. This simple realization helps our minds to stay open and fluid. When we are aware of this impermanent nature of our opinions, we don’t cling to it so strongly.
The problem is not the opinions but how we relate to them. It is perfectly human to have opinions and make choices based on the opinions but they need not be cherished too much because after all –
No matter what, it will just be another opinion, one of the many possibilities.
Don’t seek the truth. Just cease to cherish opinions. — Zen Teaching
