Daily Meditation: Friday, September 17, 2004

Weakness - the most serious: to believe in the infallibility of one’s points of view

09/17/2004

The most serious failing of human beings, the one which creates the greatest obstacle to their evolution, is their unshakeable belief in the perfection of their arguments and points of view. They protect their positions, they cultivate them and defend them. You will say: ‘But the whole world has this failing!' It is true; the most widespread defect is people's insistence on clinging to their ways of feeling and seeing things, as if there were nothing better or truer than their opinions and beliefs. They do not ask themselves where their convictions come from, or why they hold certain ones and not others, but instead allow themselves to be swept along blindly. And this explains why the earth is becoming a stage for every kind of confrontation, with each person seeking the success of his own point of view inspired by his interests, his desires, his whims, or simply his moods. Why do human beings have to suffer great catastrophes before they finally recognise they have made errors in judgement and acted out of despicable motives?