The Parade. Go ahead. Clap.

Every question asks for an answer. That is just how it goes. The life of a question. But the how and why is really something. Sometimes we ask the practical. Sometimes the theoretical.

But. It sure is easy to question others; those people with whom we don’t agree. Many of us do it frequently. There is so much going on in the world, after all.

Yet, it may be more important for us to question ourselves, really. I mean, the most of us think a LOT. Our brains are pretty magnificent and prodigious. Throughout each day, we make split-second decisions on a gazillion different things. And those verdicts are completely based on our experience. Our “knowledge” of all our years, is all waddled up into little balls, bouncing off the walls in our brains, affecting our reactions, to everything and everyone. Those little balls of “understanding” also mark our prejudices and our assumptions. We humans.

So when we come to those lightning-quick-conclusions, about this or that, it might be good for us to ask ourselves why we think that way. “Why does that guy tick me off? “What is making me so upset about that headline?” “Why do I feel so strongly about this?” And on.

Ralph Hodgson once said, “Some things have to be believed to be seen.” He was talking about ESP, but I think this applies to a lot of life situations.

And then there are times when nothing changes. Like. No matter what you do to a piece of celery, it still lingers around like miserable celery.

Perhaps it would be best for our world if those “big” things weren’t so big all the time. We have issues which seem to divide our world. Guns. Caring for the Environment. Equal Rights. Immigration. Education. And on. We argue about those things. But maybe we should ask ourselves why “this” or “that” is such a heavy brick in our baggage.

Our split-second decisions. Our re-run answers. Our prejudices, and stereotypes. Run amuck.

Yet, when we deem something to be important to us, we should educate ourselves, to the fullest. And not just believe those who are like-minded in our push to drive our motives. Ask. Question. Learn.

Ogden Nash said that “Middle age is when you’ve met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else.” It is funny, but it is true. Our understanding of our world is all based on what has happened in the past. Again. It shapes our every reaction.

We sometimes get mired down with those big issues. But. Little things matter too. It might help us to remember that. It seems like the real champions in life are the ones who do those little things so very well. Those small acts. Little gestures. Good intentions, and hopeful thoughts. Picking up someone else’s trash on the street. Giving someone your seat on the subway. Smiling when the line is winding out the door. Donations of time or money. Patting a person on the back, at just the right minute. These are the things of the luminaries. These are the Fantastic.

That old Will Rogers. A smiling guy himself. He once said, “We can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.”

You know what? I think all of us can walk in the parade.
We can be the champion; the good hero, today. In all the little things.

============

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
― Aristotle

=============

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
― Aristotle, Metaphysics

==============

“Any fool can know. The point is to understand.”
― Albert Einstein

==============