Speaking Out

I often ask myself what of value that I have to share with the world through the medium of writing. "Self," I say, "what is it that I have to offer the world?" A unique perspective, perhaps? But even then, it's only unique in the fact that the truths that I see in the world are interpreted by me in a unique way, rather than my having deep insights that are inaccessible to anyone else.

Having said that, I used to think that there was "nothing new under the sun" and that anything I might have to see is only reiterating what has already been revealed. I'm no longer sure that's the case. I'm not implying that anything I write is going to be ground-breaking or cutting-edge, only that the world is neither cyclical nor static but constantly moving forward, progressing - and this inevitably means that new truths are exposed. I'm not just talking about old truths expressed in new ways but genuinely new discoveries about Life. These new discoveries always reflect the Truth that has always existed from the beginning of time and yet our experience and understanding of this Truth is slowly being revealed as time passes.

The point is not that I have something significant to say that makes me 'special' but that I've seen and experienced things that others have not and if we would all be more willing to freely share these things with each other I believe that a lot more growth would be happening within us all. I think it becomes all the more important when we encounter realizations that are profound and life-altering. I'm not an advocate of door-to-door evangelism or attempts at 'converting the heathen' but rather a simple willingness to share our understanding of Truth with boldness, clarity, and wrapped in humility.

Are we willing to allow our beating heart to be exposed to the world around us and begin to resonate with the pulse of Life, Love, and Truth that animates all of creation?

"Those who are allowed to see are simultaneously burdened with the obligation to communicate that vision in no uncertain terms: that is the bargain. You were allowed to see the truth under the agreement that you would communicate it to others...And therefore, if you have seen, you must simply speak out. Speak out with compassion, or speak out with angry wisdom, or speak out with skillful means, but speak out you must. And this is truly a terrible burden, a horrible burden, because in any case there is no room for timidity. The fact that you might be wrong is simply no excuse: You might be right in your communication, and you might be wrong, but that doesn't matter. What does matter, as Kierkegaard so rudely reminded us, is that only by investing and speaking your vision with passion, can truth, one way or another, finally penetrate the reluctance of the world. If you are right, or if you are wrong, it is only your passion that will force either to be discovered. It is your duty to promote that discovery - either way - and therefore it is your duty to speak your truth with whatever passion and courage you can find in your heart. You must shout, in whatever way you can."

~ Ken Wilber, article "A spirituality that transforms"

"But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!" ~ Jeremiah 20:9