Great piece.

When I was in college, I volunteered as a student peer counselor. One of the tenets was to "be open-minded". Now, that has morphed into something completely different, but back then, it meant basically to remain non-judgmental as this person is in pain and is coming to you because they don't know where else to turn. But while people pride themselves on being open minded, that has been hijacked to mean you align with the "correct" philosophy. My views on open mindedness have come to mean that you are open to exploring different sides of a particular issue and do your best to attempt to give them weight on an individual basis, even if they seem impossible or fantastical. That does not mean that you will draw a conclusion that X is true/false - but more that you won't dismiss it out of hand.

It is hard - very hard - to come to terms with a lot of this because it does require a deep examination of self. And grief. Sometimes I think that we are being given the opportunity to "grieve first" to help others that will come after.