The great middle age philosopher Rene Descartes stated his conviction in the following words: “I think, therefore I am”.
When you think of this statement, it is rather profound. What he is saying is, if you do not think, you are nothing. Many people today are too busy to give time to think. They are involved in sports, they drive, and they are occupied with making a living and have very little time for the pursuit of thinking.
The Bible says: “Be still and know that I am God”.
Thinking can be a lot of fun. When a person makes a very profound statement, match it up with your own experience. You have as much right to your opinion as he has to his.
When I was in University, a clever professor made the following remarks: “When you are talking to someone, they bring their life’s experience to the conversation and you bring your life’s experiences to the conversation”. When I was young, I’m 79 now, I remember the Great Depression, many wars and many hardships. If I speak to a young person, say 29, there is 50 years difference between our experiences. If they mention poverty, I think of the depression. If the young person thinks of poverty, they think that they cannot afford one hundred dollar slacks. So we leave each other satisfied that each one of us has understood our conversation, but really we haven’t and that is why the generations don’t understand each other.
In my youth, science was in its infancy. Today, people are walking on the moon and going to the stars. We must learn to take time to think what is the other person telling us or we leave the conversation frustrated and unhappy.
There are many people today who tell you how to think and what to think. That is why you need solitude and time to yourself to come to your own conclusions. What other people tell you are just their opinions. The newspapers tell you what to think, the government tells you what to think, the sports people tell you what to think, but you have the right to think that they are all wrong. Only by careful, thoughtful thinking can you become someone. If you don’t, you will be nobody and nobody will listen to you.
Turn off the TV. Take off your earphones. Turn off all the distractions of the world and listen to the still small voice that is within all of us, and then you will astound the world and be a somebody. Prove Rene Descartes correct. Contemplation and mediation is good for the soul.
I applied for a position on the Economic Development Commission so that I could help the farmers with my 26 years experience on council. The council refused my request.
January 1, 2006
Muriel Arnason
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