You Really Do - Know Best

There is a well-known proverb that says, “In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”

As far as I can decipher, the original text for this maxim came from the renaissance philosopher, Erasmus, who translated it from ancient Hebrew.

That original text said, “In the street of the blind, the one-eyed man is called the Guiding Light.”

I may be wrong, but it seems to me there is an absence of guiding lights that one might follow and rely upon. It is as if those in positions of authority, as they suppose, lend themselves too easily to fear, popularity, maintaining control, self-interest, elitism and an almost psychopathic inability to say sorry, feel remorse or experience shame.

For the most part, I suspect these are not bad people. They’ve merely embraced belief systems that suggest they know what is best for you and me. And if one submits to this dogma, we can become over reliant on their direction and skewed leadership. In effect, we become unwitting captives of their view of the world.

This situation can lead us to not taking 100% accountability for our life and the decisions we make. And when this happens, we can fall into the trap of thinking we have no personal power or influence.

I sense we must become more curious, challenging, and forthright in expressing our humanity and individualism. After all, there is no one better placed at being a guiding light for the decisions in your life - than you.

The consequences of not taking personal control, is that we allow individuals in families, colleagues at work, personal friends, medical professionals and those in government and cultural society to insist that their viewpoint and position is the only one to be trusted. And in some cases, that might be true.

After all, mankind was once told that the world was flat, smoking cigarettes was okay, and the sun circled the earth. It took someone, somewhere - to challenge these myths.

I believe we must embrace fully what we know is best for us - without realising fully why we know: sometimes we just know what we know. It is our inner voice that offers insights, knowledge and subconscious promptings about everything from our relationships, to our jobs - and everything in between. It is only fear and self-belief that often holds us back.

So, can I ask you to please trust your inner guiding light to make a difference in your life and the lives of others. After all, darkness cannot drive out darkness – only light can do that.