One of the main characteristics of immature judgement is black-and-white, good-versus-evil thinking, but it's not really something that should be punished, despised or shunned. It's a sprout of something important. It's the first sign of a willingness to understand, and certainly a connection.
Obviously black-and-white thinking is not restricted to youth or ignorance. At any stage in our lives, when we are caught amidst the flames of drama or led by those who are, we all tend to throw around harsh judgements and to miss important, invisible details that are also crucial for actual comprehension. Some actually do that even when they aren't, but that's not something we can avoid.
After this weekend's "meditation" retreat (which was little more than another typically Spanish, dog-crowded fiasco/nightmare), I decide to let go of limited visions and mean-spiritedness to embrace all colours, even those I cannot see. Since I want a richer life, I choose to embrace, not cut the world in half.
But I'll never again be fooled by Disneyland dreams this side of the Pyrenees, anyway.
Image: Kristin Miller's "Spiral Heart" quilt.
Obviously black-and-white thinking is not restricted to youth or ignorance. At any stage in our lives, when we are caught amidst the flames of drama or led by those who are, we all tend to throw around harsh judgements and to miss important, invisible details that are also crucial for actual comprehension. Some actually do that even when they aren't, but that's not something we can avoid.
After this weekend's "meditation" retreat (which was little more than another typically Spanish, dog-crowded fiasco/nightmare), I decide to let go of limited visions and mean-spiritedness to embrace all colours, even those I cannot see. Since I want a richer life, I choose to embrace, not cut the world in half.
But I'll never again be fooled by Disneyland dreams this side of the Pyrenees, anyway.
Image: Kristin Miller's "Spiral Heart" quilt.
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3 comments:
Those retreats seem...disturbing.
They are, sweetheart. They are. Most things in Spain are for a vegetarian dog-phobe.
Yuu said, "Obviously black-and-white thinking is not restricted to youth or ignorance. At any stage in our lives, when we are caught amidst the flames of drama or led by those who are, we all tend to throw around harsh judgements and to miss important, invisible details that are also crucial for actual comprehension."
I've noticed that when people (me included)are backed into a corner, the black-and-white thinking takes over. It's like when we're in a panic everything spirals down into a tunnel vision... we can only see things in very simple terms until we calm down.
What that means is that in that state of mind, no real comprehension can take place. Making any sort of decision under those circumstances could be a disaster. I read about how police officers in high-stress conditions tend to see everything very simply... what was it called, "temporary autism," I think. They can't read body language, for instance. It's too subtle. Not black-and-white. It has something to do with extrememly elevated hart-rate, for one, I think. A physiological response.
I wonder if knowing you've entered that state -- knowing it as it's happening -- would make any difference. I guess that's why it's nice to have a calm, third party to talk to when disaster strikes.
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