And Stand Up To Scrutiny
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Have you ever been in a situation where someone with whom you are unfamiliar shares what they consider words of wisdom? ‘If you keep that face on and the wind changes, it’ll stay that way.’ ‘A bird and a fish may fall in love, but where will they build a nest?’ ‘You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.’ Are any of those ringing any bells for any of you? If not, then I doubt you’ll get very much from this. So I won’t feel offended nor hold it against you if you leave now.
*Pause to allow the exit*
In real-life scenarios, I have one individual remaining. So I’m going to apply that outcome to this.
The following information is for you and only you.
THREE METHODS THAT SHOULD SHED SOME LIGHT
- Assess personal value
- What will it cost?
- Their fruit may prove helpful.
ASSESS PERSONAL VALUE
So before we go throwing any babies out with their proverbial bath water. Let us take a moment to consider this hypothetical. How are you going to work out if these are valid words of wisdom or not? Well, that depends on how valuable it may be if proven to be the real deal. What difference would it make in your life? Or, indeed, in the lives around you? If the wind could be proven to play a part in how our faces look. What would that mean to you and your nearest and dearest?
WHAT WILL IT COST?
In that example, to prove its validity, one should have more than a passing knowledge of the nature and substance of both wind and facial anatomy. That is going to mean research. In other words, work. That will always be the cost, by the way—more work. If you’ve determined that the personal value gained is worth the price, you’ll do that work. If not, then you won’t. That decision will have at least one obvious consequence. Any guesses? ‘Yes, well done to you at the back.’ That’s right; you will now be at odds with those who believe those words. What are you going to do? Well, in terms of someone very dear to me, I think they khit the nail on the head. ‘If you are not 100% or as close to it as possible, then it’s probably wise to keep your bloody mouth shut.’ The person was an octogenarian and had earned the right to use that language.
‘YE SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS’
Matthew 7: 16-20 (King James Version) Part of the sermon on the mount.
My mother has a green thumb’, meaning she has a way with plants. On the other hand, the colour of my thumb is rainbow with sparkles. Not conducive to the nourishment of plants. I preferred my connection with plants to be up close and personal. I am clinging onto impossibly thin branches feeling them in my hand, seeing their nature up close, smelling them and perhaps chewing on some bark or leaf. Then to shimmy down to a rope swing across a stream. Or the mincing of funghi for some ravioli. I have only one piece of knowledge about all things horticultural to share. ‘Good fruit will never come from a rotten tree.’ Shared in the bible and other sacred texts as a parable to demonstrate that fruit is the shared experience of an individual. You can know that the knowledge to produce is more than likely reliable. One fruit I think of is friendships. I believe it is possible to determine a portion of a person’s character by the company they keep and the length of that relationship. Who would you be more likely to listen to a man with a handful of friends at least a decade old? Or a woman who declares they have no ‘real friends’ however they boast of having over 15,000 online? It’s a rhetorical question. But I believe it does demonstrate my point.
THREE METHODS TO SHED LIGHT ON WORDS OF WISDOM FROM AN UNFAMILIAR SOURCE
- Assess Personal Value
- What Will It Cost?
- Their fruits may be helpful.
Another quick personal anecdote that almost always provides a shortcut to all of the above. I’m sure it was going to be your first question.
I did a B.Ed Primary (Hons) at Moray House College, Edinburgh University, a while back. They get it if you can boil the above to child size. That’s your shortcut. As a parent of a precocious three-year-old going on fifty-three, I didn’t even have to wait to get in a classroom.
So I put it to the test. In addition, my ‘Sunday Name’ is Thomas, famously known for his doubting. Which my mother encouraged me. So I put it to many tests in different settings and conditions. My results were in the 80% + bracket. Which I think most people would consider a pretty good result by any measure.
The experiment where the subject was held upside down and swung around the air like a chair-o-plane got a high mark from a ‘taking part’ perspective.
The subject’s considered opinion ‘If I have to go through life with a big grin on my face, it has been worth it.’
Of course, this is entirely subjective and can only be relied upon if the subject knows how much you love them. Otherwise, it’s about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
TRY IT.
If you have made it this far, you deserve a prize. It is my tremendous honour to dub you ‘Honourary Thomases, which now gives you the power to find out things for yourself. Don’t take my or anyone else’s word. Do some experiments of your own. Note Only proceed in this endeavour if you are sincere in your desire to know the truth. It’ll be a waste of your valuable time and energy otherwise.
If you have any questions or comments, just click that comment button, and whisk it over to the team here at Tomgalewriter, where we will be happy to help in any way we can.
I would love to hear about any provisional experiment results. There is no obligation.
N.B. The powers endowed will not work if the power determines you to be insincere.
They will cease to work after a decent period of experimentation.
They cannot be shared or passed on to anyone else.
Please decline the honour and send them back to me should your circumstances change.
The team here at TomGaleWriter knows that life can be a bitch sometimes.
The team also recognises that priorities can change at a moment’s notice.
Well, that’s it for another week. Remember to hit the like button and subscribe to your inbox for future publications.
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