Making a Statement or Taking a Stand?

What does it take to read a passage out of the Bible? Out loud. Or, a quote from Bernard Shaw or Martin Luther King? Or a paragraph from Mein Kampf? A basic ability to read and speak, no more. It doesn't require any understanding, insight or reason.

What does it take to dress up in Goth, get a tattoo, pierce a tongue and eyebrows and die the hair neon green? A basic navigational skill to find a tattoo artist or a head shop and some "jingle" in the pocket.

I hear and see it several times a day. People making statements with others' words or with the borrowed looks. Is it bad? I don't think so. I think that they are exercising their basic right of expression and it is something I would fight for myself.

What I want to look at is the notion of making a statement versus taking a stand. And, I don't find it easy to write this page. So much goes into taking a stand.

What is a "stand"? For me, fundamentally, it is when I am completely in the “now” and am fully occupying my space. What that means is that I leave no empty holes for other people’s energy to enter and to take me over. It is when I know what I want in that precise moment and move confidently through it.

Making a statement is not the same as taking a stand. Anyone can get a bumper sticker or a baseball cap and make some statement with that. Anyone can quote some political figure du jour. But taking a stand is different. It is choosing yourself over all others. It is expressing your love for yourself above all else. It is respecting yourself and trusting yourself. It is saying, “My spirit is not for sale at any price!”

Most people never take a stand. They simply act according to their rigid belief systems. Those systems were forced into them during their upbringing by their society, culture, or “tribe.” (We may recall here that if people confine themselves within the belief system and follow its rules, the "tribe" will extend its protection over them. So, the belief systems are not entirely useless.)

These people are unable to imagine that there is another way to be, act, think or see the world. The cannot conceive of the idea that what they think is “the truth” is nothing but a “myth.” They work really hard at trying to convince others that their view is the only right view. The think that they "know."

If we are to take a stand for ourselves, we must have a clear vision of what is happening around us. We must open our eyes. We must move our fear into our "back pocket" and see the things we don’t want to see. Ignoring “what is” may work for a while, but it is a poor strategy for growth.

We must understand that something inside us makes us want to shut our eyes and pretend that things are not as they are. We must understand that something inside us wants to bargain or rationalize away the clarity and engage in make-believe. We must see the strong programming that runs inside and decide for ourselves whether we want to allow it to keep running.

Once we decide to open our eyes, it will be both frightening and inspiring. The scary part is the fact that we'll see so many things that we didn’t know existed. We will see things for what they really are. The "box of myths" will be sent to the closet to gather dust. But, without myths in the way, the trees no longer block the view of the forest and navigating through through life is easy. It will be kind of like eating salad without any dressing. The flavors will not be hidden by oil and vinegar. We can taste individual ingredients and eat only the ones we want.

So, back to taking a stand. Learn to see what is. Decide what you like in the moment. Allow others to do the same. Maintain your space. And, finally, speaking of quotes, remember this one. "If you find yourself arguing with an idiot, who is the bigger idiot?"