Closed off to new lines of thinking

Closed off to new lines of thinking

I have a fear that one day I will become closed-minded, fortunately, that day has not come. I have been paying closer attention to conversations and I am saddened at what I see on a semi-regular basis.

Several people I know have stagnated and become closed off to new ideas. I am so sad to see this in them as they were once spirited thinkers and desired continual self-improvement. Now, they speak as if they are authorities on topics and are unwilling to look at issues from any other angle other than their own. Recent conversations have even come with attitude for not sharing their beliefs. This has been a gradual change, so gradual that no one saw it until it was too late.

What makes this tragic is that they are not very well versed in the topics where they have positions set in stone. Could it be a sign of stress, age or time availability? After all, if you have a fixed position, then you do not need to devote any time or attention to it as it is fixed?

Still, I will miss and cherish the long conversations I have shared with them over the years and hope to find topics that they have not closed off.

I look at this as a lesson to us all; never stop reading and learning, for if you do, your mind may begin to close off to new ideas and ways of thinking. When this happens, we become more a kin to mindless drones stuck in a repetitive cycle of existence, and lose out on many of the opportunities that life has to offer.

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