Your Opinion, While Valid....

It is amazing to me how many people have no qualms about telling you what they think about your situation, your life, your friends, your behaviour, etc. While I can, and do, appreciate objective viewpoints, sometimes it's nice when people simply keep their mouths shut and their ears open. Brother Number 1 is especially good at this. He refuses to opine, has declared himself Switzerland, and listens to me. For this I have become extremely grateful.

More people need to adopt this attitude. A lot of times when someone shares personal information all they are looking for is a sounding board. They need to verbalize thoughts-- sometimes to check and see if maybe they're crazy--in order to work through whatever has been bugging them. The majority of the time, they do not need your thoughts on the subject procreating with their thoughts producing Mass Confusion Babies.

I have realized recently that a lot of people in my life have expressed opinions based on very limited amounts of information. It is amazing how these opinions can affect the way you think about your situations--of which you have way more intel--and, subsequently, affect your behavior. And these opinions can be very hurtful, especially when they are based on what someone thinks you think without asking you to clarify your position. How arrogant have we become as a society in general that we feel it's okay to tell another person what they should do or how they feel or what they think? Maybe we all should adopt the Switzerland attitude, shut our mouths, and open our ears.

The Sunday School lesson I taught yesterday was particularly applicable to this subject. Jesus said in Matthew 13:9-"Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." If you don't hear or understand what has been said to you, you mustn't be afraid to ask questions. A lot of miscommunication and misunderstandings could be avoided if people weren't so quick to open their mouths to opine rather than ask a simple question. The disciples weren't afraid to ask Christ questions later on in Matthew 13:10--"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" Because they asked, Christ told them why in the very next verse. And thus there is a conversation and learning can occur. But it happened because the disciples listened, asked a question, and received the appropriate answer. It's amazing what can happen when you realize that you have the power to gain knowledge through listening to others and asking questions.