There’s an anti-smoking commercial that begins with the words, “The worse lies are the lies we tell ourselves.” It’s a stark reminder that we can be our own worst enemy when we rationalize our behavior in order to justify what we do or don’t do.
I wonder how many lives could be saved if people hadn’t told themselves that they could handle one more drink before getting behind the wheel of a car? How many students might have passed an exam if had they not convinced themselves they knew the material and didn’t need to study? Or how might the effects of climate change be altered if we were willing to alter our lifestyles?
When we’re honest with ourselves, we can all point to times in our lives when we’ve allowed immediate desire to override prudence. It might be something as innocent as helping ourselves to a second piece of cake or buying something that we don’t really need, rationalizing that it helps boost the economy.
In the end, it comes down to choosing personal pleasure over principle. Giving into temptation, whether great or small, is about seeing only what we want to see as we turn a blind eye to the consequences of the choices we make.
I was reminded of this a few weeks ago while participating in a Zoom group that was discussing the book, “Seeking the Heart of Wisdom” by Joseph Goldestein and Jack Kornfield.
The host and facilitator of the group is a psychology professor at the University of Minnesota whom I got to know several years ago.
With participants from around the country and as far away as England and Canada, the discussions provided a healthy mix of views. Much of the discussion during the first session focused on the law of cause and effect and the reality of impermanence.
According to the authors of the book, one of the first precepts of wisdom is the understanding that greed, aversion and illusion are often the driving factors behind decision making, and that if we seek to rid ourselves of the tendency to default to them, inner peace would be ours. The whole premise is that we can only change the world by changing ourselves.
It reminded me of a recent documentary that followed climate activist Greta Thunberg as she traveled the world. For a 13-year-old girl who has autism complicated by Asperger’s syndrome to have the courage to address world leaders, interview environmental scientists and garner global attention is nothing short of a miracle.
Her story is impressive. Once she became aware of the climate crisis, no personal sacrifice was too great. Overcoming her aversion to public speaking, she works tirelessly to dispel the illusion that we are helpless when it comes to climate change. Hers is a story about the power of one person, not unlike the lives of saints who set out to change themselves and ended up changing the world. A perfect example of this is one of Christianity’s most beloved saints, Francis of Assisi.
Clothed as a peasant, he serenaded Lady Poverty, never realizing that his song would echo from the hills of Umbria to the halls of Rome. In overcoming his aversion to a leper, he dispelled the illusion that the rich and powerful are more important than the poor.
People called him a fool, a madman, a thief and a saint, but it made little difference to the Poverello of Assisi. Similarly, when those who lacked Greta’s vision called her a “brat” and a “fool,” she responded by saying, “I don’t want you to listen to me, I want you to listen to the science.”
I don’t know what, if any, religious affiliation Greta has, but her concern about the welfare of others and her respect for the environment is impressive. We, who have so many conveniences and luxuries, are called to be responsible citizens of the world. We can no longer avoid the evidence and maintain the delusion that our actions do not have consequences.
We are not all called to live a life of poverty, but we are all called to be poor in spirit, which carries the mandate to be open to the will of God, to have concern for others and to care for the earth. It’s about embracing spiritual childhood, renouncing greed and dispelling misconceptions — especially those we harbor within.
When we consider the impermanence of all to which we are prone to cling, we quickly realize that only truth can set us free. And since God is Truth, we should strive for honesty in all things, especially regarding the views that we hold sacred.