It IS In The Question

“We assume that the answer is out there and once it is given to us, everything will be fine”

We celebrated a friend’s birthday the other day.

After the cake cutting and the dinner that followed some of us settled around the table for a chat.

The topics jumped from one to another and we finally landed on religion.

Steve, “You guys talk so much about religion. There are so many paths. Each with its own version of truth. Which path to follow? If I want to be better person, what am I do? What to follow?”

“Follow your conscience” answered Sam.

“Yes, that’s it. Just follow your conscience. It will eventually lead you to the truth” joined in John.

Pause.

Steve. thinks deeply and shoots back, “But that can’t be true for a psychopath. Following his conscience will cause more harm.”

Awkward silence. Hmmm.

And then this answer just came out of John.

“Well, YOU are asking this question. A psychopath will not ask that question. He will probably will be asking something like “The world is screwed up. Everyone is screwed up. How can I now get rid of some of those screwed up people?””

Ahhh…

That’s it, isn’t it. Different people ask different questions.

We ask different questions during different phases of our lives.

“Will dad be angry with my results?”, “Does she like me?”, “What course to take?”, “What to wear?”, “Why am here?”, “Do I look fat?”, “Why is my life like this?”, “What’s for dinner?”, “How to make more money?”, “Who am I?”. You get the idea.

We ask questions in search of answers.

What we don’t realise is that our questions say more about ourselves than the answers.

Perhaps “ask and it shall be given” has more layers than one would imagine. The very act of ‘asking’ forces one to face up to what exactly one wants.

William Shakespeare must have been on to something when he wrote “To be or not to be, that is the question….”. Hamlet’s questions reveal so much about him and what lies within that the answers to those questions become almost irrelevant. The question reveals the person.

Our mind is always crowded with questions. We are busy seeking answers and think that the solution lies in getting the ‘correct’ answer. We assume that the answer is out there and once it is given to us, everything will be fine. But that is seldom the case. Each answer given leads to many more other questions.

We stand on certain believe system, certain things about ourselves and. the surrounding circumstances that we have come to. accept as ‘facts’. And from there, from where we stand, we ask questions, looking for answers.

But the answer is right there staring back at us; in the question.

Our questions reveal who we are, where we are at and what we feel is lacking. And if we look within, in those questions, lie the answers. Our questions hold the answers to our turmoil, our inner conflicts and our aspirations. And once we come to see from whence the question is asked, the questions itself dissolves, revealing the answer.

The next time you have questions running in your mind, observe those questions, look within. You might be surprised at what it reveals about yourself.

Pay attention to your questions my friend. The answer, IS in the question.

Muru