We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.
John Newman
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Hello Lily
*********************
A belief is like a body of water. Naturally we should keep an eye on our beliefs because they tend to affect our behavior and our points of view about many things. For some a belief is allied to a religious faith. To others they may correspond to social and ethical matters and some beliefs are coordinate with natural laws. Almost all beliefs are found tied to opinions, which are usually the product of ideas. But whatever the origins and structures of one's beliefs they should be held up for review regularly.
Naturally we should look at our beliefs to see what they are made of but we should also determine how deeply and seriously held those beliefs are. Is your belief a bird bath, a pond, a lake and ocean? The deeper the belief the more changes it can go through, and that's a good thing. Opinions change and beliefs change along with them. If they don't things get muddy and dangerous. William Blake wrote "A man who never alters his opinion is like standing water, & breeds reptiles of the mind. "
Some people suffer from the ornery ego inflated problem of being possessive about their beliefs, holding on to some threadbare idea because they don't want to challenge or be challenged for it. That man's belief is a swamp unless he runs it past his reason a few times and cleans it up.
It is permissible and quite natural to have beliefs you can't prove as long as they remain beliefs, subject to review and change, and are not stated as truth.
To choose what to believe is our right as humans. Being told what to believe by someone else is not.
DB - Vagabond
Happy birthday JSB, wherever you are.
Never give up.
*******************************
Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Friday, August 5, 2011
Sing For Your Seeds
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.
Maya Angelou
******************
One of these days I wouldn't be surprised to get a comment from some unknown reader saying "Who asked you?"
Come on, you guys, I want to hear "tweet, tweet, chirp, chirp."
I don't really consider Vagabond Journeys as a journal of opinion, although I seem to express my opinions about one thing or another at the click of a keyboard button.
I ran out of bird seed on the weekend and as a result the finches and their companions weren't talking to me. So I went to Walmart and bought three big bags of seeds, and filled their feeder. Now I'm waiting to hear at least one tweet of gratitude. So far, nothing.
I stated writing the journal in 2006, full time since 2008 and during that time I've expressed a lot of opinions I suppose. But I also write about observations I've made, humor, stories of my life as an entertainer and bits and pieces of information having questionable value.
I even put up a container of jolly peanut based suet. The birds are showing their appreciation by putting 200 yards between themselves and my porch.
I write because I want to, and because I have to. I write every day. I write short grippingly interesting and angelically inspiring essays like this one. I hope I put seeds of thought in people's minds and lives.
Big man, big man, have you any gruel?
Yes sir, yes ma'am, three bags full.
They always scurry away when they see me. Even though I'm the one who fills their feeder, I'm just too big for them to contend with.
I am almost never asked for advice. In the few times I am I hope that the advice I give and the opinions I express are worth something to those in need, even if, as in some cases, I never hear from them again.
One of them got caught inside my apartment trying to get out through a closed window. I picked him up in one hand and carried him to the door. He was so grateful to me for saving him that without a chirp he took off like a shot to parts unknown.
As I have said before, I don't know many answers, but I know a lot of questions, and it's those questions that keep me curious and keep me writing. I have a few readers and get even fewer comments.
Some one will say not to worry the birds will return. Of course they will because they need to gorge themselves on my sunflower seeds and wild bird mix. They can't resist my cuisine for long. And I will be happy to see them. And hear them.
And don't write because I have answers, I write because I have a song.
DB - The Vagabond
Never give up.
*************************
SUMMER QUESTION
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
13 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Maya Angelou
******************
One of these days I wouldn't be surprised to get a comment from some unknown reader saying "Who asked you?"
Come on, you guys, I want to hear "tweet, tweet, chirp, chirp."
I don't really consider Vagabond Journeys as a journal of opinion, although I seem to express my opinions about one thing or another at the click of a keyboard button.
I ran out of bird seed on the weekend and as a result the finches and their companions weren't talking to me. So I went to Walmart and bought three big bags of seeds, and filled their feeder. Now I'm waiting to hear at least one tweet of gratitude. So far, nothing.
I stated writing the journal in 2006, full time since 2008 and during that time I've expressed a lot of opinions I suppose. But I also write about observations I've made, humor, stories of my life as an entertainer and bits and pieces of information having questionable value.
I even put up a container of jolly peanut based suet. The birds are showing their appreciation by putting 200 yards between themselves and my porch.
I write because I want to, and because I have to. I write every day. I write short grippingly interesting and angelically inspiring essays like this one. I hope I put seeds of thought in people's minds and lives.
Big man, big man, have you any gruel?
Yes sir, yes ma'am, three bags full.
They always scurry away when they see me. Even though I'm the one who fills their feeder, I'm just too big for them to contend with.
I am almost never asked for advice. In the few times I am I hope that the advice I give and the opinions I express are worth something to those in need, even if, as in some cases, I never hear from them again.
One of them got caught inside my apartment trying to get out through a closed window. I picked him up in one hand and carried him to the door. He was so grateful to me for saving him that without a chirp he took off like a shot to parts unknown.
As I have said before, I don't know many answers, but I know a lot of questions, and it's those questions that keep me curious and keep me writing. I have a few readers and get even fewer comments.
Some one will say not to worry the birds will return. Of course they will because they need to gorge themselves on my sunflower seeds and wild bird mix. They can't resist my cuisine for long. And I will be happy to see them. And hear them.
And don't write because I have answers, I write because I have a song.
DB - The Vagabond
Never give up.
*************************
SUMMER QUESTION
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you. Don't let the recent New York State decision rob you of your thunder.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
13 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
What's Your Opinion?
Holding an opinion which is in fact correct, without being able to give a reason for it, is neither true knowledge nor ignorance
Plato
***********************
You've heard the remark "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." To those suffering from ignorance it is a comforting thought. There is no crime in trying to be right without the basic knowledge and even though one misses the mark most of the time at least to aim at it is worthy.
But some people simply play lottery with knowledge, taking for granted that something is true because one heard it somewhere or because one thinks of it oneself. People will aggressively hold on to and defend an opinion for many reasons. One of them is so they won't appear stupid. There are those who will ridicule you if you don't know the answer to something. I used to get that treatment a lot when I was growing up. It took me most of my life to accept the idea that "I don't know" is a legitimate answer to something. It seemed to me there was no compassion for ignorance anywhere in the world.
Having incorrect facts is another reason for holding an opinion. One's opinion may be correct but it's based on wrong information. You take the right road for all the wrong reasons but you get there anyway.
Another type of opinion defender has nothing to do with reasons or knowledge of the facts. It's based on a hunch, intuition, a gut reaction. Someone expresses an opinion as if it was a fact. When you ask him why he thins tht way he will say "I don't know. I just think it's right." If it turns out that he has one of those stopped clock times, he will be trusting his own guts instead of the truth of things.
Given the reasons for opinion building as stated above and many others, the worst kind of opinion not based on knowledge is the opinion we might have of another person. We re frequently put in a position of having to make a value judgment about someone else for some reason. Maybe we are interviewing them for a job, or deciding if we want to see them socially, or if we want to buy something from them or sell it to them. Without living someone else's life we can't possible know everything we need to know about them to make the correct assessment. So it is very important how we frame an opinion about that person and we must avoid doing it superficially by the way they look or the sound of their voice. I've served on juries and it was usually very difficult to figure out who was lying and who was telling the truth. I pity the poor judge who has to do that day in and day out.
Thee is an ocean of difference between ignorance and stupidity. Ignorance is curable.
DB - The Vagabond
*********************
Plato
***********************
You've heard the remark "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day." To those suffering from ignorance it is a comforting thought. There is no crime in trying to be right without the basic knowledge and even though one misses the mark most of the time at least to aim at it is worthy.
But some people simply play lottery with knowledge, taking for granted that something is true because one heard it somewhere or because one thinks of it oneself. People will aggressively hold on to and defend an opinion for many reasons. One of them is so they won't appear stupid. There are those who will ridicule you if you don't know the answer to something. I used to get that treatment a lot when I was growing up. It took me most of my life to accept the idea that "I don't know" is a legitimate answer to something. It seemed to me there was no compassion for ignorance anywhere in the world.
Having incorrect facts is another reason for holding an opinion. One's opinion may be correct but it's based on wrong information. You take the right road for all the wrong reasons but you get there anyway.
Another type of opinion defender has nothing to do with reasons or knowledge of the facts. It's based on a hunch, intuition, a gut reaction. Someone expresses an opinion as if it was a fact. When you ask him why he thins tht way he will say "I don't know. I just think it's right." If it turns out that he has one of those stopped clock times, he will be trusting his own guts instead of the truth of things.
Given the reasons for opinion building as stated above and many others, the worst kind of opinion not based on knowledge is the opinion we might have of another person. We re frequently put in a position of having to make a value judgment about someone else for some reason. Maybe we are interviewing them for a job, or deciding if we want to see them socially, or if we want to buy something from them or sell it to them. Without living someone else's life we can't possible know everything we need to know about them to make the correct assessment. So it is very important how we frame an opinion about that person and we must avoid doing it superficially by the way they look or the sound of their voice. I've served on juries and it was usually very difficult to figure out who was lying and who was telling the truth. I pity the poor judge who has to do that day in and day out.
Thee is an ocean of difference between ignorance and stupidity. Ignorance is curable.
DB - The Vagabond
*********************
Monday, September 7, 2009
Tables Turned 9/07/09
Too many people live according to other people's opinions.
DB - The Vagabond
********************
Howdy Pardner
----------------------------------
I had almost made up my mind I wasn't going to write anything today. Why bother? Everyone is off on a holiday and no one is going to read my journal anyway. Besides I have spent a portion of the day catching up on the news and feeling very depressed as a result.
Having just come through alive after the attack of the credit card monsters, I want some happy news. And yet I'm overwhelmed by hearing about what my fellow Americans are doing to each other. Even given the fact that the media over sensationalizes things and tends to stick with the negative news, I can see evidence of the ideals of community, society, even civilization itself being thrown out in the trash. Misunderstanding has become litigation. Discussion has become irrational shouting. Disagreement has become hatred. Protest has become gang warfare. Rational thought has become hot headed opinion.
The right wing fanatics are out to destroy the administration (and the country in the bargain) for no other reason than that they are Democrats. That sort of childish resentment is not only transparent to any thinking person but beneath the dignity and intelligence of any American. Where does this mindless violence come from? Like any mob mentality it was sowed. Seeds were broadcast into the minds of the gullible. Lies were told, false dangers were suggested, base feelings were sung to by the worst of human voices. Reason was torn off the walls and crumpled up and a masquerade was put up in its place. In some chariots of authority stand racism and the denial of human rights. Anger, hate and revenge are the rules. We have gone mad.
In this frame of mind I thought it would be best not to write anything. The events of the days are enough to depress me further. I don't need to manufacture fuel to add to my fire. In the midst of my terrifying weeks of recent time my reading lamp broke. It was a definite hardship. I could not even read the papers that had been filed against me. The only place to purchase another one would be the mall and it is impossible for me to get there. I asked around to see if anyone had a spare lamp I could borrow. Nothing was forthcoming.
In the midst of my afternoon of darkness, gloom and depression, feeling as if all the goodness had gone out of the world, there was a knock on my door. When I opened it there was my house mate, Dan, from the apartment below. He had been to Walmart and had picked up a small table lamp for me.
It may not seem like a big thing, but my not being able to read has been a sorrowful deprivation for me. Dan and I don't know each other well, he's only been living here a couple of months, but his simple act of kindness was enough of an antidote for all the negativity I had been feeling today. Would there were more such acts. Thank you Dan.
Here I wasn't going to write today and I've written a lot. I hope somebody reads it.
DB
*************
Wow. You have another day to play. Use it well.
____________________________________
DB - The Vagabond
********************
Howdy Pardner
----------------------------------
I had almost made up my mind I wasn't going to write anything today. Why bother? Everyone is off on a holiday and no one is going to read my journal anyway. Besides I have spent a portion of the day catching up on the news and feeling very depressed as a result.
Having just come through alive after the attack of the credit card monsters, I want some happy news. And yet I'm overwhelmed by hearing about what my fellow Americans are doing to each other. Even given the fact that the media over sensationalizes things and tends to stick with the negative news, I can see evidence of the ideals of community, society, even civilization itself being thrown out in the trash. Misunderstanding has become litigation. Discussion has become irrational shouting. Disagreement has become hatred. Protest has become gang warfare. Rational thought has become hot headed opinion.
The right wing fanatics are out to destroy the administration (and the country in the bargain) for no other reason than that they are Democrats. That sort of childish resentment is not only transparent to any thinking person but beneath the dignity and intelligence of any American. Where does this mindless violence come from? Like any mob mentality it was sowed. Seeds were broadcast into the minds of the gullible. Lies were told, false dangers were suggested, base feelings were sung to by the worst of human voices. Reason was torn off the walls and crumpled up and a masquerade was put up in its place. In some chariots of authority stand racism and the denial of human rights. Anger, hate and revenge are the rules. We have gone mad.
In this frame of mind I thought it would be best not to write anything. The events of the days are enough to depress me further. I don't need to manufacture fuel to add to my fire. In the midst of my terrifying weeks of recent time my reading lamp broke. It was a definite hardship. I could not even read the papers that had been filed against me. The only place to purchase another one would be the mall and it is impossible for me to get there. I asked around to see if anyone had a spare lamp I could borrow. Nothing was forthcoming.
In the midst of my afternoon of darkness, gloom and depression, feeling as if all the goodness had gone out of the world, there was a knock on my door. When I opened it there was my house mate, Dan, from the apartment below. He had been to Walmart and had picked up a small table lamp for me.
It may not seem like a big thing, but my not being able to read has been a sorrowful deprivation for me. Dan and I don't know each other well, he's only been living here a couple of months, but his simple act of kindness was enough of an antidote for all the negativity I had been feeling today. Would there were more such acts. Thank you Dan.
Here I wasn't going to write today and I've written a lot. I hope somebody reads it.
DB
*************
Wow. You have another day to play. Use it well.
____________________________________
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