Doubt
“If
you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least
once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”
Rene
Descartes
Some
of us are doubters—we doubt just about everything until we
experience it for ourselves, and sometimes, even then. We question
the validity of “proven fact” and common belief, and refuse to
accept anything on faith. I'll be honest, I envy people who don't
harbor such doubt; their lives seem unburdened by weighty pondering
and rumination. Of all the doubts we humans carry in our hearts,
self-doubt is the ugliest of the gargoyles.
On
the other hand, it was Emerson who said, “A foolish consistency is
the hobgoblin of little minds...” When we hang onto our absolutes
like flotation rings in a rising storm, we close all doors to
possibility and growth. Doubt is a strong motivator of change.
Self-doubt can grind us to a halt, but it can also force us to dig
deeper. If we're seekers, we send a probe into those depths to
evaluate the situation. Some of us content ourselves with floating on
the surface, others just need to dive.
Doubt
is uncomfortable. It is an emotions we want to tuck tail and run
from, but it puts us in a collar, adds a leash, and civilizes us. In
the soil of doubt, sprout seeds of new discovery. In surrender, we
uncover reasons for hope. One doesn't overcome self-doubt so much as
learn to dance with it.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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