NEW THOUGHTS - Part One

Volume 1 of 'Thoughts for 100 Sabbath Days is now available on Amazon.com. I hope you will enjoy having it in your homes!


Some years ago, as an introduction to a presentation I had been asked to give, I asked the audience if they had experienced a new thought recently. The expressions on their faces and the uncomfortable vibes which came at me were unexpected and in a strange way very rewarding, as I knew we were about to embark on a very lively discussion.

There were a few who responded with enthusiasm and excitement as they joyfully shared the new thought that they had recently been introduced to.

There were others who asked if a new twist on an old thought counted. I answered in the affirmative and they willingly shared the new twist they had been gifted with.

There was one who wondered if having received confirmation by an authority on a previously perceived uncertain belief could be counted. I remarked that such an experience must count double since it probably was coming from two sources.

Sadly, the majority in attendance either couldn't recall a recent encounter with a new thought or were unwilling or too timid to contribute.

One of my all-time favorite mentors, Hugh Nibley, with that elfish twinkle he got in his eye when he was about to say something which had brought joy to him, once shared a story of how after a lecture a student came up to him and with a challenging voice said, ‘I have never heard anything about most of the things you were talking about tonight.’ Rather than entering into a debate, Brother Nibley simply stated, ‘I hope not, why else would you want to listen to someone harangue for two hours. I would never sit and listen to someone for two hours if I wasn't going to glean some important new information.’

After my own presentation on the importance of constantly adding to our own stock of thoughts and having gained many new thoughts of my own that night, I was also rewarded with a whole basket of new directions I needed to take when thinking about the importance of continually adding to one’s bank of facts, knowledge and understanding.

It was exciting to see the many, who flushed by the excitement of their ‘added upon’ experiences, multiplied their joy by anxiously sharing with others.

One of the sad discoveries I came away with that night was that there are many among us who for one reason or another have placed self-imposed restrictions upon themselves which hamper and restrict the addition of new ideas in their lives.

As I drove home I pondered on the self-imposed restrictions that some of us place upon ourselves. We, for one reason or another, eliminate from our lives one of life’s most precious experiences and a great source of joy, ‘the continual process of learning’.

There have been numerous studies which track the reading habits of high school graduates and all of them seem to result in similar findings. There are about 1/3 of all high school graduates who never read a book after graduation. I have friends who consider listening to a lecture to be the highest form of unusual punishment. They seem to have enlisted in a secret society which has the motto, ‘I went to school to prepare, I am prepared, end of discussion.’

Earlier in my teaching career I had assignments in some communities where those who came to class were very uncomfortable with any ideas being shared which they hadn't heard from childhood and which hadn't been repeated in classes and talks for decades. Having to deal with a new idea or looking at a principle from another point of view was a very unnerving and uncomfortable process.

I am reminded of a short talk I had with my eldest son when he returned from school and his first day of kindergarten. I asked him what he had learned that morning and he quickly replied, ‘Everything’.

Sadly, some of us have deluded ourselves into thinking that we really have learned everything of importance. You do recall the best seller All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten (Robert Fulghum). It seems the book, even though never having been read by this group, has become the Bible and Fulghum the prophet of those who now reject the idea of continuing to learn. We can feel confident that just like all bibles, their adopted bible also sits on a shelf and draws dust and their prophet’s words are never read.

Even their justification arguments are stale and repetitious:

How often have you conjugated a sentence since you graduated?

How many times have you had to use a geometric formula since you graduated?

Very little I read in the books in high school relates to real life, so why should I fill my head with more non-essential information?

How many conversations have you had in Latin lately?

Due to technological advancement this congregation of non-readers is now able to add mathematic fundamentals, spelling, grammar and writing in complete and coherent sentences to their list of the reasons why time spent in learning is a waste. After all what do we have fingers, calculators, computers, spell check and Wikipedia for?

(To be continued …)