Sacred cows are scary. Sacred cows limit the freedom of mind to explore new ideas, competing philosophies, and the uncovering or invention of heretofore unimaginable discoveries. Sacred cows are perhaps the most confounding roadblock to the advancement of the individual and society.
Sacred Cows and Open-Minded???
Unfortunately, I’ve found so many “open-minded” people with still a handful of Sacred Cows like religion, politics, women in business, feminism in general, sexual-orientation, and all sorts of little personal hang-ups, which actually make these “open-minded” people rather “not so open-minded” after all.
Sacred cows are also scary because they cannot be discussed without irrational ire at worst or with at least heated argumentation. Sacred cows can consume such a deep part of us that we refuse to even consider the rationality of opposing positions, let alone actually consider if those thoughts may be truer than our own sacred cows. Thank God there are those primed to challenge the status quo and the sacred cows penned up within it.
Let’s admit it, we all must have our Sacred Cows or non-negotiables. I do. I have one Sacred Cow for sure: freedom. I must be free to do what I wish without anyone attempting to stop me. My only prohibiting factors are my very few obligations: Pam and Austin, and a commitment to certain behaviors.
However I think more than ever before I am a bit more likely to be open to new thoughts and ready to actually temporarily (or permanently) adopt them until new information comes along. I will experiment with many, many thoughts or practices. But I don’t adopt them all. Still, I will test out multiple and questionable hypotheses. It’s fun!!!
And You???
And you??? What are your Sacred Cows and how do they prevent you from progress? Are you ready to go there? The world would be a lot better place if we all held loosely to our Sacred Cows.
Sacred Cows
Make for Gristly Filet Mignon
Photo courtesy of vinny at istockphoto
