Not Knowing is Ok!

 



Friends and family who know me best, know that I have gone through a radical shift in my core beliefs over the past ten years. I dared to step back and take a critical look at what I was conditioned to believe most of my life. It was not easy. I had a lot to lose. I had to drop all my certainties. There was a risk that  friends and family would not understand. As I peeled back the layers of what I thought was fundamental truth, for at least 35 years, I realized that most of it was not real. I had been living in an illusion and so through a process of many months I slowly became disillusioned. With a more open mind I now feel freer then ever before. I feel a peace that passes all understanding. I realized that taking a critical look at your core assumptions is not a bad thing. Truth and reason are more important then a perceived belief system. Truth stands the test of time, and if you have a belief system that cannot be tested for truth, then you have to question ....why???. "Question everything " would be good advice to our children and grandchildren, so, maybe it would be good advice for adults as well.

We have become addicted to the need for certainty, and the belief that we are right. When we are convinced we know the only truth, we become closed minded to the views of others around us. Being open to new truth, and not being so certain in your conviction, is what sets you free. When certainty of belief is dropped, we realize, we don't know, and that is the most humble approach to living. Not knowing opens us up to the mystery of life. I started out seeking and striving to find truth, a process that lasted many years. I released the need to strive after answers to deep questioning recently and the seeking is diminished to the point where I am getting content with not knowing. This contentment with not knowing is a type of release that resulted in a great sense of freedom and truth. It was only when I gave up the striving that I felt a type of liberation.

Here is a link to another post I wrote on  truth   

and here is another,

 Not Knowing 


One reaches a point where there are no more questions and there's no more search. - John Butler

Wasp Nests

I had three separate wasp nests under the siding and soffits of our house. There was two types , the common yellow jacket and the mud dabber. They would build a huge nest before summer was finished . Something needed to be done.  I profess to love 'Life' and I do believe that in its very essence, all life is 'one'. But what is 'one', ( pun intended) to do when you know you have an infestation being built into your house exterior. I know a person who does not believe in killing mice ( he's a Buddhist wantabe) and his house is infested with these creatures. He has mouse dropping all through out his house and it doesn't seem to bother him. I don't share his love for mice.

Where is the balance??? I wish I could flick a switch and get rid of the wasps without killing one of them. But, the option to do nothing, and let the problem grow, from past experience, I concluded, was not the best choice. The best I could do is destroy the nest early, before they multiply, and by sealing off all holes in my house, I will prevent them from coming back.

To kill or not kill them was the choice.  I bought a can of hornet and wasp spray and got rid of them. I feel somewhat bad about it but relieved that I may have alleviated a greater hazard to human life.  It was the lesser of two evils in my thinking. Life decisions are not always black and white . There are gray areas of our human existence here on this planet, and getting rid of some creatures that produce a threat to our families is one of them.

Was it the right thing to do, destroying the wasp nests....maybe or maybe not?

There are a lot of issues in life that I say  'I don't know' about these days . I believe 'I don't know' is the best position to take on most of life's tough questions. To say 'I know'  closes us off from further truth. It is also somewhat arrogant.  So, if you ask me,  was it right to kill these wasps?...........my answer is .........I don't know for sure.