by Michelle Maynard Koenig
July 31, 2012

“Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.”
Euripides (Greek playwright, c. 480-406 BC)

How often do we witness the barrage of the infamous question from children: “Why?” Children so intrigued by the world and everything contained therein that their “why’s” are non-stop. How often do we end up at a point where all we can respond with is “because?” That simple response doesn’t stop a child’s unrelenting search for answers … “but why?”

May I take lesson from a child’s curiosity and search for the truth of the Universe and life that compels them to question everything.  Looking back at the history of mankind, there was a time when everyone believed that the world was flat, but they were all wrong. I realize that the number of people who believe in an idea is no measure of the truth or falsehood of that idea.  The only way I can tell whether an idea is true or not is by looking at the facts and examining the evidence for myself, and from there judge the same against my own reason and moral code, instead of judging it against the reason and moral code of others.

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense.” ~Buddha

This keeps me from taking the personal inventory of others.  Who I am, today, is largely a reflection of where I have been in life, what I have experienced (negative and positive), and the beliefs that I have formed therefrom.   What right do I have to impose my answers on everyone else, especially if those answers do not make sense to everyone else?

What I have learned thus far is that if I am not authentic and truthful to myself, a wall will be built up around me that will eventually have to be torn down again. Life always has been able to show me my own faults. To be authentic; to come from my own truth and experience;  and not buy into something outside myself blindly, is the path I choose to take in life.  May I always have the courage to question everything: “what,” “why,” “how?”  May I always have the courage to reflect on the deeper truth of my reality:  “Is this really true to what I know?”

May we all be encouraged to choose the pathway in life that “fits” within our own reasoning and moral code; may we find our own path(s) in life through self-understanding. May be we be like children and question everything!