Can You Think?

I received an e-mail from a friend the other day. His concern, or frustration, was that too many people just accept what they see and hear or what they are told. His quote, "I rocked the boat this week..... I just want people to think, and not accept what has been taken as truth in the past." That simple sentence really made me stop and think. We believe, as completely factual, so much of what we hear or read. Because we have done something one way for so long we never question why. Because our parents, our teachers, or our government tells us something, or does something, we tend to accept it and not look further into any details for ourselves. I can remember many a discussion, or better put, argument when someone has said to me. "But I heard this from so and so!" Really? And just what does "so and so" know about this subject? How much time have you spent researching this matter? Even more importantly, what may have been the truth yesterday, last week or a decade ago may not be even close to reality now.

Many years ago I heard a very interesting explanation of our acceptance of things we do not think about. I do not know the original author or even exactly how the story goes but I like to remember this when I myself do not take the time to think.

A young woman was making dinner for her fiancé one evening. She carefully cut the ends off of the roast and placed them on top of the main piece. She then placed them in the pan and prepared to season them. Her fiancé asked her why she cut the ends off the roast. She replied that she did not know, her mother had always done it that way. She decided to call her mother to ask why she cut the ends off of the roast. Her mother replied, "I don't know dear, that is how your grandmother always cooked a roast."

This puzzled the young woman and she called her grandmother to ask about why she cooked a roast that way. Her grandmother replied, "My dear, I really don't know. That is how my mother did it."

Now the young woman was determined to find an answer. She called her great-grandmother although she was concerned that the elderly woman might not remember all of her cooking techniques. She posed the same question and received this response. "Oh my dear, it was really quite simple. I did not have a big enough pan."

You may find this story very silly but I ask you, how many times have you just accepted something without even thinking about it? How much of what you do or believe is based completely on, "Because that's the way it has always been done."? Your God, Higher Power or nature gave you a brain, USE IT!

This one is for you my friend. Keep rocking the boat!