Beware the man (or woman) of one book

Beware the man (or woman) of one book.

I first came across this phrase (without the brackets - they're mine ??) when I was choosing my coaching training provider. It spoke so LOUDLY to me - and I made a conscious choice to learn from people who believed that wisdom is BLENDED... from MANY sources.

It's said the quote comes from Saint Thomas Aquinas: "hominem unius libri timeo" (meaning "I fear the man of a single book").?

800 years ago he gave us a truth that we need to keep remembering.

It is a human trait that we look for certainty.

We turn to others - gurus, teachers, leaders, politicians, friends, family - to give us the answers. And the knowledge they share can be deeply powerful.

And yet.

And yet, it is essential that we don't become stuck in one single groove; one way of thinking. We need the breadth of multiple 'books' to give us an openness of thought.

Psychology, philosophy, politics, spirituality, science, embodied practices, nature, eastern & western medicine... across the spectrum of all their sub-sets, they all bring value. And we awaken our own inner wisdom when we bring our discernment to what we hear; finding our own truth.

In a world that is often seen to be divisive, full of bias and binary thinking, this approach feels to me to be the foundation to creating deeper understanding. It speaks of a compassionate willingness to hear others - even those whose thinking challenges our own.?

And through that willingness to listen, we practice what our heart desires - that in turn, we too are heard. Because, of course, we don't have to agree with everything we hear, just as we cannot expect everyone around us to agree with us.?

But listening... listening is everything. It speaks so eloquently without words.

With love

Henny?

#mindfulness #selfcompassion #bewarethemanofonebook #wisdom #compassion #connection #listening #listeningdeeply?