I often have scraps of paper lying about my computer with scribblings on them. I jot down ideas or things I want to explore. Sometimes I even pick these scraps back up and look at them. Mostly they just lie around looking like a mess. This morning I did pick one up and turn it over. On the back was written Caveat Emptor. It is a Latin phrase meaning " Let the buyer beware. " I haven't a clue why I jotted that down but there it was. I thought about it for just a moment and my mind went back a number of years. I began to think about the things I have purchased that perhaps, in retrospect, maybe I should not have. But then I thought this concept of let the buyer beware could also apply to the intangible things we have bought. More properly the things we bought into. It is those things that often have the largest impact on our lives. I'm talking about ideas and ideology. I'm talking about the things we believed and put our faith into.
Remember when you were a child and Mom and Dad tried to tell you something but you knew better ? That's the type of stuff I'm thinking about. That person really was nothing but trouble. Doing this or that did give you a bad reputation. And in some cases, it wasn't love at all, just an infatuation ! Couldn't tell you anything though, nope, you bought it. I was convinced that I should go into the service. All the benefits were explained to me, all the logic was sound. I sat at night and contemplated all of that. I would soon be 18, a man. I would eventually make the " grown up " decision, do what was right. I joined. Looking back I bought into the whole thing. I didn't join because of any great desire to " see the world " or " serve my nation. " No, I joined because I bought the whole packet both logically and in spirit. It was the right thing to do, whether I really wanted to do it or not. That is what I am talking about. That is the kind of stuff I'm thinking about. It is the stuff we buy into that defines our character. Can you change your character ? Of that I'm not so certain. You can try, but is it possible ?
Our characters are formed in our youth. Just how much say do we have in all of that ? That would depend upon how much freedom we enjoyed as a child. That is what I'm thinking anyway. I believe it is our parents, our siblings, our friends, and our community that form our character, our mental and moral qualities that distinguish us. We call that finding our way. Once we choose a path we are reluctant to change that path. I made that choice to join the Navy because it was the " right " thing to do. I can think of several other choices I made because it was the " right " thing to do. I bought into it ! I didn't make those choices because it was easier, more convenient, or even necessarily because it is what I wanted.
The strength of our character is dependent upon our moral foundation. Can you abandon your moral foundation ? I believe you can if you apply enough mental effort to do so, you can buy a ticket on a different train of thought. When we are presented with new information, new ideas or methods we should evaluate them against the old. The adoption of the new shouldn't always mean the abandonment of the old ! You don't have to go all in. I can earn an advanced degree in any subject I choose, but what I learned in kindergarten still applies. Far too many today " buy " into this whole education thing. If I go to school and graduate that makes me smart. Knowledge and wisdom are totally different things. As I was told on many occasions, there are a lot of educated damn fools in the world. It is my thinking that each and every degree issued in this country should contain the phrase " Caveat Emptor " Buyer Beware don't buy into everything you hear or what is popular.
Remember when you were a child and Mom and Dad tried to tell you something but you knew better ? That's the type of stuff I'm thinking about. That person really was nothing but trouble. Doing this or that did give you a bad reputation. And in some cases, it wasn't love at all, just an infatuation ! Couldn't tell you anything though, nope, you bought it. I was convinced that I should go into the service. All the benefits were explained to me, all the logic was sound. I sat at night and contemplated all of that. I would soon be 18, a man. I would eventually make the " grown up " decision, do what was right. I joined. Looking back I bought into the whole thing. I didn't join because of any great desire to " see the world " or " serve my nation. " No, I joined because I bought the whole packet both logically and in spirit. It was the right thing to do, whether I really wanted to do it or not. That is what I am talking about. That is the kind of stuff I'm thinking about. It is the stuff we buy into that defines our character. Can you change your character ? Of that I'm not so certain. You can try, but is it possible ?
Our characters are formed in our youth. Just how much say do we have in all of that ? That would depend upon how much freedom we enjoyed as a child. That is what I'm thinking anyway. I believe it is our parents, our siblings, our friends, and our community that form our character, our mental and moral qualities that distinguish us. We call that finding our way. Once we choose a path we are reluctant to change that path. I made that choice to join the Navy because it was the " right " thing to do. I can think of several other choices I made because it was the " right " thing to do. I bought into it ! I didn't make those choices because it was easier, more convenient, or even necessarily because it is what I wanted.
The strength of our character is dependent upon our moral foundation. Can you abandon your moral foundation ? I believe you can if you apply enough mental effort to do so, you can buy a ticket on a different train of thought. When we are presented with new information, new ideas or methods we should evaluate them against the old. The adoption of the new shouldn't always mean the abandonment of the old ! You don't have to go all in. I can earn an advanced degree in any subject I choose, but what I learned in kindergarten still applies. Far too many today " buy " into this whole education thing. If I go to school and graduate that makes me smart. Knowledge and wisdom are totally different things. As I was told on many occasions, there are a lot of educated damn fools in the world. It is my thinking that each and every degree issued in this country should contain the phrase " Caveat Emptor " Buyer Beware don't buy into everything you hear or what is popular.
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