Looks like a fancy thing.
"Open minded". Sounds good, makes you look wise, but what really is it? It's definitely not a surface feature, no expensive tux, but it seems to be the next best trendy thing.
It's supposed to have something to do with being receptive to new and different ideas, and while I agree with this point of view, I think there's much more to it than being all ears.
I don't remember the first time I heard the term. Nor do I remember the context. But it's possible I was watching some sort of psychological documentary; regardless, I took it for granted and moved on, trying not to dismiss everything new and different by default, but actually listening to what people have to say about it and even engaging in constructive dialogue.
The problem however is that one day I realized that I wasn't really open minded just by doing that, and I mean I was still following some sort of predefined path, a behavioral preset that changed my overall skepticism to a state of permissive curiosity. Well, that wasn't enough, sure, it's fine to take everything with a grain of salt and actually paying attention to what you'd once dismiss as rubbish without a second thought, but it didn’t really feel satisfying enough. And now I think I know why.
It can be compared -metaphorically- to a theorem vs axiom perspective, but literally it's about what I and most people (I presume) take by granted at some point in early life, so early that if we are to consciously remember when we first heard or been taught about x or y subject all we can say is "Must have been from my parents" or "Probably learned it in school" or "Know it since I was a kid" but I and some people I spoke to can't really put a finger on where and when they were explained said subject for the first time.
Which led me to the real question, not “Am I open minded?” but rather “How much of what I take for granted of being me is really me, and how much is just someone else’s ideas that I never in my life considered to doubt/analyze/dispute/revoke?”
This ultimately helped me realize that being open minded takes real courage and doesn’t only mean listening to radically different points of view without dismissing and/or condemning them on the spot. It means facing the very possible fact that you’re not yourself, but a construct of behaviors and rules that you just choose to follow blindly, not because you can’t see, but because you never even thought about opening your eyes to see them in the first place.
This, I think, is the second part of what being open minded really means. Not to just listen to other’s points of view, but to actually know that you have one that’s yours. Because otherwise everything becomes a huge hall of mirrors, running out of things to reflect.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll find a third and fourth part. I’m not convinced this is over :))
In the meantime, keep it open !
