We, humans, are creatures of habit. One of my favorite stories is about a woman who always cut off a piece of the roast before she put it in the oven. Her husband asked her why she did that.
The woman said she did it that way because her mother had taught her to do it that way.
So then the guy asked her mother. And she said that her mom had always done it that way. Good thing Grandma was there. So he asked, once again.
And the grandmother said because otherwise, it wouldn’t have fit in the oven.
Sometimes we just do things because that is how they have always been done.
The actual reason behind it may have been pertinent at one time. But things change, and the action might now be counterproductive.
I have really seen this to be true in some small community organizations. It is probably true in large community organizations, governments, churches, households, and on.
The phrase, “Well. We’ve always done it this way,” is the dead giveaway.
Tradition can be good. Ritual can be good. Common practices can be good.
But sometimes, they need to be examined.
We may be surprised.
Sometimes there might be a better way.
==========
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
― Albert Einstein
===========
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”
― Jalaluddin Mevlana Rumi
============
“The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
============