Have you ever thought about life’s questions and answers in terms of the source of the answer? With few exceptions I believe each of us has a portion of The Answers to The Big Questions of life and living, whether or not we realize it. I also believe it’s as we share our answers that the picture of The Answers expands. The reality is that none of us have all the answers and maybe not all the questions. But for progress to be made requires us to listen as well as speak. And that is not a given. Part of this depends on our motivation – is it to expand our understanding or promote our position?
When you expound on your views/beliefs/answers keep in mind your source. Where did you get your answers? How trustworthy is your source? How long have you held these beliefs? This information is extremely important – the who, what, where, why. Also, as you listen to others, these are legitimate questions to ask them. Everything has a source. And our experience with our learning makes an incredible difference.
I’ve always been one to champion asking questions because I believe this is an art. Finding the/your answer can become considerably easier and faster once you have the question. However, without the underlying question you don’t know what you’re looking for. The process of finding the/your answer is the second greatest understanding. Then the answer. But the first two teaches us more than simply finding an answer.
Lastly one must come to the understanding and acceptance that our answer may not be another person’s. This can be extremely difficult to accept since if we go through the asking and process then our answer has more foundation to rest upon. True, but this is still the sharing we give – our answer. But we need to allow others to present theirs. If you start from the premise that you have only part of the answer then another’s approach doesn’t disallow yours (or yours, theirs). It simply is another … partial answer.
