Getting the Right Answer

The story of my life is shaped by what I do each day. One thing that has shaped many of my days from an early age, is a desire to find, and give, the right answer.

Getting the right answer kept me in school. Getting the right answer kept me at church. Getting the right answer shaped my work, my friendships, my hobbies. Getting the right answer became an essential part of who I saw myself to be.

It was a revelation to me, an awakening, to realize that the answers I had found might not be the ones I wanted. They were accurate and reasonable. They were not false, but they were not true for me. The answers other people had given me were not my answers.

It took me time and effort to change. It was painful, for me and for other people. What had seemed so tangible and clear became ambiguous and confusing. It felt much less satisfying. Often, it felt like being lost, especially compared to getting the right answers.

Slowly, drop by drop, I learned how to listen. I became able to wait, at least for a little while. I became more tolerant, and even comfortable, in the ambiguity. I came to see that the confusing was more real that my carefully constructed answers. I began to explore, and to discover the Holy, and my true self, that lived in the mess and confusion. The clouds and smoke were coming from fires that burned deep within.

Now, I have moved from giving people the right answers to asking people the right questions.

Are there answers that you are ready to release?

What would you like to explore?

[Image by seier+seier]