A Different Path

By Dave Squires, Co-author of The Ungettable Joke

Have you ever been annoyed with the number of people that
tell you every day “you ought to think this”, or “you ought to do that”, or “you
should give more of yourself to this cause or that cause”? No matter what the
subject, there is always someone ready to instruct you on how to steer the ship
of your life so you can do things the “right way”. The thing is, when I hear these
people they all sound the same to me, and only a few of them are really
offering helpful advice.

Most of them sound like Captain Stubing, stammering ineptly
and trying to direct the crew to behave. They seem to think there is only one important
issue in the sea, their issue, only one way to run a ship, their way, and that all
hands should all run en masse to their
side of the boat to join their cause. But, it is plainly impossible to respond
to all the stammering Captain Stubings of the world. There are in fact hundreds
of causes trotted out every day in an attempt to separate you from your hard
earned cash or gain power over you through politics.

People choose causes because it is in their heart to do it,
and that is right. No one should choose a cause out of guilt. The person that
tries to make me feel guilty is the person who wants me to run screaming in the
opposite direction.

Now, this blog is not really about choosing a charity or a
political cause. I merely used these things as examples of the cacophony of
issues that bombard us every day. My own way of dealing with this intellectual
noise has always been to think for myself first. I hesitate to tell you how I
do that because it will sound too preachy and I do not say that everyone should
do exactly what I do. I will simply suggest that thinking adults would benefit
tremendously if they avoid getting all their ideas on life from other people,
particularly those that want money or power. After all, why should you trust
anyone else to run your life? Really, you probably have family members you don’t
trust as much as you want to trust media people.

To
put this another way: If you believe what “everyone knows” you will never
discover what nobody knew. Meaning, one should think beyond the so called "common sense" which is often uncommonly bad. Often, ideas are sold to you as common sense and are really outright lies told in the self-interest of the speaker. Anyway, history is nothing if not an unending stream of common sense shot down by discoveries of the real nature of things.

I
try always to keep that in mind, and weigh the array of inputs, shunning guilt trips at
every turn, and defining my own unique path through life. I choose the things I will value and I apply my efforts to realizing them or supporting them. I try to help those around me through what I have learned -- if they are interested -- and I look for truly helpful people that want
to share what they have learned through conversation, blogs, articles, CD's, or books.

It is unfortunate, but seems to be true, that a large part of our populous has been taught that the only place they can get a valid opinion on any subject is from news people, newspapers, or politicians. History shows that such mass mesmerization by the press, in concert with politician's speeches, makes a people subject to dangerous propaganda. I see it as my duty to look at all such information with extreme skepticism, and I choose my own path based on my own beliefs devised after ingesting as many wise thoughts as I can -- always leaving time for my own!

Thanks for reading!

The Ungettable Joke is a book that takes a very different path. If you are looking for some different perspective, maybe you'll find something you like in our book. In any case, it is a fun adventure and at the very least a break from the "you oughta's". Find it at Amazon or other e-book sellers on our website (e-book reader download links are there too).





Copyright, Dave Squires, Co-author of The Ungettable Joke ( http://www.ungettablejoke.com )