There are many truths, we hear them all the time, we read them in blogs, we see them in movies and inspirational videos, we hear them from friends and family, sometimes from the mouths of ‘Babes,’ and we read them in books. Often times these truths make us feel good, or give us cause to pause and consider things from a different perspective, or ideas for approaching things differently.

Question: Do these truths change us, or do we resonate with them merely because we’ve already changed in such a way as to be ready to hear and understand the truth?

For example, one of the most famous of truths shared over and over again on the Internet is Gandhi’s famous quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” In my own understanding, there was a time in my life in which that quote would not have made much sense to me, as I was in the mode of trying to change others to get what I wanted. Yet today this quote resonates with me in a very powerful way.

So did the quote get me to look at things differently, or was I just ready to hear it given the slow gradual shift I had been affecting in my life?

Why is this distinction important, you might ask? For just one reason, if we place our reliance on the pursuit of knowledge alone, we can only evolve our thinking to a point at which our willingness to consider our own part in the challenges and problems in our lives puts on the brakes. That is to say that, resistance to considering our own part in problems and challenges will diminish our perspective, and therefore diminish our capacity to achieve greater understanding.

Challenge: Do not confuse considering our own part, with blame. Blame is a passing of responsibility, even if we are blaming ourselves. Everyone has a part to play, and the part of others is their own choosing, whether they are aware of their choosing or not. Honoring everyone’s individual choices, I have found, is a pathway to compassionate problem solving.

Releasing resistance to accepting our own part to play, I have also found, is the pathway to understanding. Knowledge, is just knowledge, anyone can know things. Understanding gives us liberty of mind and spirit.