Today's
Meditation:
I've made it one of my goals in life to always follow
common sense as much as I'm able. I think that part
of this goal comes from having work in educational
settings for so long, and seeing so many people who try to
analyze, interpret, and quantify everything-- but still
being no more successful than the person who uses common
sense for problem solving and creating. There's a
lot of value in education, of course, but some of us get
lost in over-intellectualizing, and we lose touch with
common sense, one of our greatest gifts.
When we learn to do things by rules, we very often get so
caught up in those rules that we follow them even when
doing so can be destructive. I've driven on roads
that have been terribly icy on the side I'm on, but clear
on the other side. The rules tell me that I should
stay on my side, but common sense says that I should be
safe and drive on the opposite side, as long as no other
cars are coming. I know many people who wouldn't
even consider driving on the "wrong" side of the
road, even when there's no traffic there at all. I
get on that side as soon as I can simply because it makes
sense.
Spiritually, too, it's important that we follow common
sense. We see a lot of people make claims about God
and spirit that make little sense at all, but since
they're "religious" people, we listen to
them. It makes no sense at all to me that any pastor
or preacher should have a private jet for any reason-- and
common sense tells me to avoid that particular brand of
"religion." People are always quick to
tell me what I should believe or what I should do, but if
their words contradict common sense, then it's important
that I weigh their advice carefully.
There are those who say that common sense isn't very
common these days, and they have a valid point. We
get so caught up in making decisions and explaining
everything using logic and information that we often lose
the ability to just say, "What's the best thing to do
here?" Sometimes the answer to that question
can't be the result of an equation, and sometimes it isn't
following the rules. But in our hearts we know the
best things to do, and common sense is one of our best
friends if we but use it.
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