Personal Development
Where Do You Get Your Information?
Think about where you get your information, and who you trust.
- When you’re looking for news, do you read small blogs, or big newspapers?
- When you’re looking for spiritual advice, do you look to ‘churches‘ (the established central authorities of various religions), or individuals (authors, travelers on the path, spiritual leaders, etc.)?
- When you’re looking to educate yourself (or your kids), do you trust “official” organizations and government agencies, or independents (authors, websites, how-to books, etc.)?
- Yellow pages, Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, or Google?
On one hand, you’ve got the “authorities” (of course, they’re the ones saying they’re the authorities, and we often trust them just because they do). On the other hand, you’ve got individuals, those who are drawing on the wisdom that comes from their own experience and learning, to the voices who have trodden the path and stand to speak about it.
(And just so you know that I’m not just talking out of my elbow, I do realize that many well-experienced individuals often make up the rosters of those big authoritative organizations. And, I also know what being a part of big authoritative organizations can do to squelch the voice of the individual within it…)
If you saw the movie “Sicko“, you’ll remember the interview with Tony Benn, the British socialist politician who so eloquently described how the grassroots movements in the UK created healthcare reform sixty years ago.
In addition, he spoke about how in England, the government fears the people (and does right by them, by and large), because they realize the people have the power. In the US, of course, the people fear the government (which doesn’t do right by us), because they—and us—have forgotten that it is the people who have the power. (Not to belabor this point too much, but another great documentary in the same vein is “Why We Fight“, about how Eisenhower’s presidency ushered in the first standing military-industrial complex… and before that, the government was less feared.)
So, who do you listen to?
Where do you look for answers? To the “authorities” that say they’re the authorities, or to individuals, to the wisdom in our collective, to the voices who have trodden the path and stand to speak about it?
And I’m not just talking about global political issues, or national social issues… I’m also talking about who you trust for information about everyday matters, like toothpaste, transportation, and tea. Sources of information are more plentiful now than ever before in history, and so is our access to them. Because of this, it’s our individual duty to strengthen our BS detectors, and come to understand what separates truth from falsehood.
I realize, it’s never quite so cut and dry as ‘big vs small’, either. Some organizations are amazing. Some individuals are wacko. It’s up to you to follow your heart and decide for yourself.
And really, that’s the point of this entire piece.
It comes back, again, to self-responsibility. To honoring your own sovereignty. To taking the initiative to “front the essential facts of life” with open eyes, and open heart, and an open mind.
Because when it comes down to it, you have to decide for yourself. When authority (be it a group or an individual claiming to have it) speaks, you have to question it — even when it takes you against everything you’ve ever been taught — because then, and only then, will you have the peace that comes from following your own internal sense of what is right.
And that quality, the quality of certainty, is rarely afforded to those who aren’t willing to challenge convention and trust that sense of inner knowing that permeates the deeper reaches of the soul. Stay on the surface, and you get only superficial confidence. Dive deeper, and you get abiding resiliency, self-determination, and inner strength.
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