Do you know how to read the skies?
I was wondering about that when I headed to work on my bike this morning. I looked up to see what I thought were some very threatening clouds. I wondered if it would rain or if it was just going to be cloudy today. I hadn’t heard the forecast before I started riding so I really wasn’t sure what to expect.
I’m so used to relying on the weather forecast that I’ve never really bothered to pay enough attention to what’s right there in front of my eyes.
I’ve got cyclist friends who’ll say, “The clouds are too high to produce any rain” or “We won’t get any rain for an hour or so”. They’ve paid attention to what’s around them. They’ll listen to the forecast but they’ll also see the signs in the sky.
As it turned out it didn’t rain on my way to work or on my way home. We got a little rain later in the day and we’ll hopefully get more tomorrow.
I think our opinions about all sorts of things can be like that. We get so used to relying on what other people are saying that we miss what’s there right in front of us. We can lose the ability to think for ourselves because there are plenty of people who are more than happy to do the thinking for us. We stop reading the signs and eventually we’re at someone else’s mercy.
I suppose it’s always good to hear what others are saying but we need to develop the ability to see things for ourselves. We need to be able to develop discernment. We need to sharpen our skills of observation and practice greater critical thinking.
Are you letting other people do the thinking for you? Next time you’re tempted to go along with an opinion that sounds alright on the surface, take the time to look deeper and see if there’s more tobe considered.
Posted by Rodney Olsen
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