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Openness & Me

The strange thing about being open or receptive is that both happiness and sadness can come in through the open door. But it is up to us to decide which lives in our house. Of course the house I am talking about is our mind. The openness is a characteristic you can't live without as well as can't live with it! (my U2 line :D)

Openness comes with a disclaimer: use at your own risk! When I agree to being open I sign a contract with unlimited possibilities. The contract clearly states that the result may or may not align with my expectations. But the contract does guarantee an experience that would justify the suffering or joy. So eventually I might just end up with an experience. No more no less! But that's the cost of the openness.

But can I define openness? To me it is the condition when mind is ready for possibilities. It is not restricted by its' own biases and inabilities. Openness puts me in a vulnerable state where I am like a traveler on the way to nowhere. I don't know where I would end up but I am hoping something good would sprung up. I am ready to take more chances than usual.

If openness is so useful, why am I so afraid to use it more often? The answer is simple, I am vulnerable to sadness as well. I am not willing to hit the hot spots in myself that could stir up something I have managed to hide from myself. Happiness seems to act like a drug which gives me a natural high. While sadness seems to slow me down giving me time to ponder on the uncertainty to follow. It makes me more receptive as well as considerate.

Maybe openness and sadness come hand in hand. And sometimes happiness manages to break this bond bringing in all the joys. Do I sound like a pessimist? No I am just being open to the possibility that likelihood of sadness over joy is high. But if I don't open I am losing the possibility of happiness managing to creep in through the door.

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