Openness

The times in my life when I have said in consternation, "I didn't know," have had a great impact on my consciousness. Finding out why another person behaved a certain way after the event has helped me break through my own narcissism to an openness to learning about people and their differences. This was a daily practice which began in earnest when I was a psychiatric nurse at an acute psychiatric hospital as a young man.

There is a fine line between openness and gullibility. The gullible person accepts all behaviors at face value. The open person maintains a skeptical mind while closely observing. The gullible person is a passive audience. The open person is an engaged observer, avoiding premature conclusions while formulating comprehension into understanding. 

The practice of maintaining openness is work. It is not passively accepting everything at face value. In a similar way, detachment in the finest Buddhist sense is also work, not passive indifference. Detachment requires taming the mind, a wild beast when confronted with meditation and serious reflection. However, detachment does not entail extinguishing thought or feeling. Just as openness does not entail closing down all reaction while trying to learn and understand. 

Walking the middle path of practice is about balance. I am finding that learning to balance brings more balance. Humanist practice is an engaged life. With more openness comes more work. Balancing the work of openness and the work of actualizing humanist values in relationships is a worthwhile pursuit. It is the pursuit of humanist ideals in action.