I'm So Open

The title comes from a song of the same name by the Cowboy Junkies-- a band who's lyrics I have quite enjoyed over the years. A quick line from that song, that should illustrate my current mood:

I'll take this endless life
Of perfect pointless mornings.

But I've noticed something… Have you noticed that when someone says they're humble, chances are good, they're not? It also seems to be the case for people who claim to be open-minded.

It seems to me that for every closed-minded conservative fundamentalist, there are an equal number of closed-minded liberal atheists. Either side formed their opinions at a younger, more open-minded stage, and quickly shut the door, less they need to exert more effort.

Of course, the problem with a closed mind, is that facts that contradict their already-established position and perspective are overlooked and forgotten, or ignored altogether. But contradictory facts are the most interesting.

When one is younger, one works through them with gusto, but with each fact conquered, the foundation of one's opinion becomes more settled and the door starts to close on the endless line of facts wanting attention. Eventually, the effort becomes tiring, and the mind decides it has last found the object of its quest, the journey ends, and the door is shut.

It is understandable that one wants to close the door … the winter winds of uncertainty unsettles the mind, and this is psychologically painful. However, the facts one encounters and wrestles with at one age, are not always the same at a later age. Some of us, suffocating from the stale air, open the door wide and rework our established position and re-examine each old and new fact.

But this too, doesn't happen often in life, if it happens at all.

Alright, enough of the obvious analogies. Here is my point… today is Pi Day††March 14th is 3/14 … 3.14… Get it? , and Pi, like the platypus, bothers us. How can such a common number, be so irrational? But perhaps by keeping an open mind, and working through and accepting the bothersome abnormalities as only a crack in an immature foundation, our minds can eventually become calm. Eventually they may even invite those mysteries over for tea.

Tell others about this article: