How to think when you don't know what to think

 

How to Think, When You Don’t Know What to Think:  A Meditation

We live in turbulent times.  A life-threatening virus, a contentious election, and civil tension, in general, have made 2020 a challenging year and 2021 may be as challenging.  We have so many thoughts to think and opinions to make.  It is increasingly difficult to make decisions and opinions without dividing from family and friends. 

How do we think when we don’t know what to think?

Imagine you are watching a game where the Red Socks are playing the Blue Birds.  You are not a big fan of either team, but when watching a game, it’s fun to choose a favorite.  You are not from the home town of either team.  Your mom was a fan of the Midways, a rival of the Red Socks.  The Red Socks win all the time, so you root for the Blue Birds.

You are joined in watching the game by another person.  She’s a big fan of the Red Socks.  She is saying bad things about the Blue Birds.  You are dumb to root for the Blue Birds, she says, Millie Little is from our home town.  She plays for the Red Socks.  Root for the Red Socks. 

At first, you didn’t care, until you started to be rubbed raw by the comments of the person who joined you.

Next, you find yourself in a sports pub watching the same game with a room full of people.  They are not only watching your game, but five other games are playing on the televisions around the room.  You can’t hear the television but read the graphics.  The room is warm and filled with the smell of alcohol and fryer grease.  Fans are cheering for eleven other teams, jeering one another, complaining about the calls of the officials, the food the service, and the chaos in the room.  When you leave you are unhappy that your team lost, and vowing that you will not go back to that pub because of the bad food and poor service. 

Interesting response, when you didn’t really care who won, and you weren’t terribly hungry, to begin with.

Many of us experience the same challenges when we are faced with making decisions or having opinions about issues you face.  How do we make better choices?

Know yourself.  You have things that influence how you think; things you don’t even realize.   You are a certain age.  You have experienced history that others haven’t.  You are from a family that has shaped you in certain ways; on a genetic level (nature) and on the way you’ve been raised (nurture).  You may be resistant, or compliant to authority.  You may be confident or fearful.  These things and more affect our thoughts and idea before we even start to formally learn. 

The same is true with everyone in the world.  We are all looking through marred and fractured windows, seeing our version of what we see and disagreeing with one another.  This is true with those who, report on the news, as well as those listening to the news. 

The news is:  The Red Socks defeated the Blue Birds 3-2.

The opinion comes in when the news person says the Blue Birds played a bad game, the officials were unfair.  The opinion comes if the news person works for a network, or for the Red Socks or the Blue Birds. 

How do you think?

Know yourself.  Know those around you.  Know that each writer, reporter, or news organization see-through marred and fractured windows. 

Read or listen to speeches, laws, etc., rather than just listening to what writers say about what is spoken/written.  Listen to a variety of sources.