The church service this week was about jumping to conclusions. While one man commented that he was a contender for the Guinness World Book of Records in this regard, many of us could relate. Back before cell phones, when John was late getting home from a trip I would leap into planning my widowhood from nothing more than a two hour delay.
But rather than flood you with company in your own tendency to catapult to conclusions, I will pass on some of the ideas that keep people's feet on the ground.
Curiosity can unseat the negative notions that arise from too little information. Rather than assuming that a brusque response from a friend implies the end of your relationship, consider what could be going on in his or her life. Maybe you could help.
The minister reminded us that people are multidimensional. Our behavior on a single day does not encompass the whole spectrum of who we are. Another way to tether our out of control imaginings to earth is to remember that there is a lot we do not know. In fact the total of what we don't know easily dilutes the facts we have collected. Humility keeps us from gripping conclusions that may be a narrow slice of the whole picture.
Someone told a story about two people traveling through Scotland. When the first one saw a black sheep out the window of the train he declared that all sheep in that country are black. But the second offered a suggestion.
"Maybe there is just one black sheep." To which the first added another thought.
"Perhaps this sheep is only black on one side." Getting into the fun of it, the second added one more explanation.
"It could be that this sheep is only black on one side some of the time." Anyone familiar with either chameleons or octopuses knows that this is possible.
Maybe the chances are also good that I can be more curious and less pedantic. At least on one side. Some of the time.
