A new twist on an old phrase…

The words: I don’t care.
On the surface they don’t sound too good… we are taught that it’s not a good thing to ‘not care’.
I’m actually finding that it is a fantastic thing to really be able to say “I don’t care”.
The catch of course is that you have to mean it. You have to “feel” it.
It’s freeing, its without expectations, it’s difficult to disappoint and it is without hurt.
“I don’t care” is not all consuming, neither does it push away… it simply is, it simply allows.
It hangs out in that comfortable middle place that is not without feeling, but it is feeling without the exclamation point(s).
I can “not care” and yet I can have concern. I can visit without taking ownership. I can allow others to be who they are without feeling like I need to change them or change myself.
“I don’t care” gives up control and allows things to simply exist.
It allows me to be an observer and even an actor in this play that is my life without taking it too terribly personal.
I’d like to proudly bring back the phrase “I don’t care” without the apathy that has been traditionally associated with it.
It’s OK to “not care”, to ride that comfortable place in the middle.
Personally, I think the root of many of our problems (suffering) is that we have been trained to believe that we need to care way too much… too deeply. We allow ourselves to care to the point of life being filled with constant disappointment.
I can have concern, I can be positive and make a significant contribution to those around me. My actions can have a profound impact for good, and yet I am capable of doing these things without a great degree of caring (about the outcome, that might not live up to my expectations and leave me feeling let down for my effort).
I learned to equate caring with ownership and a lack of ownership with apathy.
I was taught “all in or all out”.
Today, I do not hold that belief.
For all of the words we use to describe how we feel… “I don’t care” is underutilized in it’s true meaning.