"All Truths Wait in All Things"

How are you managing the thing we call 'mind'? Is it time to update your mind-management skills?


I loved the print on the wall behind my desk the moment I saw it.

Walt Whitman’s words “All truths wait in all things” rang like a bell in my head, bringing a clarity to a feeling I’d had all my life, but never verbalised so succinctly.

I know deep down that it is true. But why is it true? Why is it that we can learn any lesson that we want from anything we encounter?

Well, it’s largely because HOW we encounter things is a reflection of our inner world - how well we understand, manage and tap into the thing we call ‘mind’. Our skill in this department affects and influences

  • How we meet our daily challenges

  • How we engage with those around us

  • How we direct our attention

  • How we act, react and interact.

  • How we accept or question the things we have learned or been taught

  • How adeptly we integrate the sometimes opposing functions of our brain


This might all sound a bit esoteric, but bear with me.

Miyamoto Musashi, recognised as the greatest swordsman ever to live, a creative genius, and in my opinion, the Japanese Leonardo Da Vinci, put it this way:

“There is nothing outside of yourself that can ever enable you to get better, stronger, richer, quicker, or smarter. Everything is within. Everything exists. Seek nothing outside of yourself.”

There are many ways to read this, but I would suggest looking at it in this context to begin:

We are responsible for our choices. In the here and now, regardless of what has gone before. We make choices, every minute of every day. We choose whether to get sucked in by other people’s moods, energy or ideas, or to stay our own course. We choose whether to act defensively, and shield ourselves from loss, or become open to possibility, innovation, and collaboration. We choose to be curious or to be closed.

The thing we need to think about is how we make those choices. What influences them, consciously, or unconsciously? How are we managing those influences - how are we CHOOSING those influences?

And if we’re consciously choosing and we’re not getting the results we want, then what do we need to choose next? How do we need to interrogate those choices?

This quote, attributed like so many, to Einstein, does sum it up nicely:

"We cannot solve problems from the same level of thinking that created them.”

There isn’t a lot of evidence that he said that apparently, but it gets the point across. What he did say though is "We have to learn to think in a new way."

There are a lot of things we’ve never been taught. And for many of us, that includes learning how to think in a new way.

For generations, it’s been a bit like, “Yeah, here you go. Have a human brain. What? No, sorry… no manual. Just wing it, you’ll be grand….sure, what could go wrong!”

But that’s changing. While there isn’t exactly a handbook that comes with your brain, there’s an incredible amount of information, tools and techniques available now that you can use to understand how your truth has been constructed - and to see if it needs an upgrade.

Find out what you’ve labelled your truth. Discern whether it’s yours, or something you’ve taken on through external influences, such as expectations or cultural norms.

Use better tools to integrate the aspects of your brain that will really unleash your potential, and elevate you beyond the thinking that inhibits your progress.

There are ways, I promise you. Your brain is the most amazing adventure - treasure trove - creative playground… you can’t even begin to imagine. I’d be happy to give you the guided tour ;)

BTW, this print is one of a series by Obvious State, the New York City-based creative studio and literary brand of Evan Robinson. I got it at The Yard Gallery in Holywood… yet another occasion where I went in for a coffee, and came out with a piece of art in hand, wondering why my coffee habit was so expensive lol. Worth every penny ;)