To separate the wheat from the chaff. I've heard that expression used most of my life, which is strange considering I'm not a farmer, but its' meaning is well known to me. To separate the good from the bad is its' most basic meaning. But it's true that even the bad has it uses. With chaff it can be used as fodder for animals or tilled back into the soil. I see that as getting a second chance to be productive. Chaff can also be small particles of aluminum used to confuse radar. Some people spew chaff in an attempt to confuse others. I'd say that is the job of a politician, they have a way of doing just that.
But I was thinking about that expression this morning after reading some postings last evening. There certainly are a great deal of conflicting posts on just about every subject you can imagine. Call it fake news, misinformation, or just plain lies, you do have to separate the wheat from the chaff. The challenge lies in identifying the wheat. We do so based on our moral and ethical values. They are our personal threshers. Yes, you separate wheat from chaff by threshing, basically beating it against a hard object. Another method, less known I expect unless you are a farmer, is winnowing. Winnowing accomplishes the task by blowing air. The lighter husk of the seed flies away and the seed remains.
Now as we go about our daily lives this is a constant process. Our challenge is not what to do with the wheat, but what to do with the chaff. It is useful and so shouldn't be discarded. But of what use could I put it? The chaff I'm speaking of is negative energy. You do have to have that. There can be no positive without a negative. A ying and yang as the Chinese put that. A balance. How to convert that negative to a positive. Well I believe that is a natural process and will occur without my intervention. There are times when I may be able to speed up the process a bit, but I can't control the process. About all I can do is plow the chaff under or feed to to the animals. I do a little bit of both. I remember in the Bible, the chaff, will be burned in an unquenchable fire. As I recall in that sermon that meant bad people! Must have made an impression on me to remember that. I attended the Episcopal church, not exactly what you would call fire and brimstone preaching, but being held to account was stressed quite a bit. It wasn't about fear, it was about consequence. The lesson being there is good and bad, wheat and chaff, know the difference.
But I was thinking about that expression this morning after reading some postings last evening. There certainly are a great deal of conflicting posts on just about every subject you can imagine. Call it fake news, misinformation, or just plain lies, you do have to separate the wheat from the chaff. The challenge lies in identifying the wheat. We do so based on our moral and ethical values. They are our personal threshers. Yes, you separate wheat from chaff by threshing, basically beating it against a hard object. Another method, less known I expect unless you are a farmer, is winnowing. Winnowing accomplishes the task by blowing air. The lighter husk of the seed flies away and the seed remains.
Now as we go about our daily lives this is a constant process. Our challenge is not what to do with the wheat, but what to do with the chaff. It is useful and so shouldn't be discarded. But of what use could I put it? The chaff I'm speaking of is negative energy. You do have to have that. There can be no positive without a negative. A ying and yang as the Chinese put that. A balance. How to convert that negative to a positive. Well I believe that is a natural process and will occur without my intervention. There are times when I may be able to speed up the process a bit, but I can't control the process. About all I can do is plow the chaff under or feed to to the animals. I do a little bit of both. I remember in the Bible, the chaff, will be burned in an unquenchable fire. As I recall in that sermon that meant bad people! Must have made an impression on me to remember that. I attended the Episcopal church, not exactly what you would call fire and brimstone preaching, but being held to account was stressed quite a bit. It wasn't about fear, it was about consequence. The lesson being there is good and bad, wheat and chaff, know the difference.
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