I said to Elaine the other day something I have said many times over the years and that is, truth is stranger than fiction. Not my quote of course and we will talk about that in a moment. You certainly have heard it before and even said it yourself. That would be no surprise.
I enjoy reading books that are fictional. I like John Grisham and cannot wait to read the new Joel Rosenberg book when it comes out. I have to tell you though as much as these and other writers are able to expand and imagine what could or would happen, truth is stranger than fiction.
Now this thought and conclusion are the source of a 1897 Mark Twain travel book titled “Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World”, and the fifteenth chapter presented the following epigraph-
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.
The truth is stranger than fiction. You see in fiction, as overwhelming as the plot might be or the characters actions, there is underlying common sense. These can recognize and respond to things like natural laws. Natural law which is common to society and derives its origin from the Bible.
I am reading in Exodus currently and there you see God giving direction as to how man should act. He gives Moses 10 commandments as well as other directions as to how and what to do in certain situations. Those are all things that have and will affect the manner in which we, as the human race, respond to the occurrences around us.
Currently we are seeing and learning things that we probably all figured were going on in some respects. Yet, to the degree in which it is occurring, is truth and thus stranger than if we read it in a fictional novel. It made me think that you just can’t make this stuff up.
I guess you could say I am caught up in common sense. That’s right there are most things that we should and shouldn’t do. Common sense says it will hurt you, it is morally wrong, it might hurt another in different ways. A moment ago as I was writing this another old adage came to my mind, if ignorance is bliss.
The story behind it is the phrase “Ignorance is bliss” is commonly attributed to Thomas Gray’s poem “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College,” written in 1742. In the poem, Gray reflects on his own youth while observing children at play at Eton, the school he once attended. The phrase is part of a longer line: “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.” The context is one of nostalgia and a lament for lost innocence.
In the poem, Gray isn’t advocating for ignorance but rather commenting on the complexities and difficulties that come with knowledge and adulthood. As children, the students at Eton are ignorant of the many challenges, sorrows, and ethical dilemmas they will face as adults. In that sense, their ignorance shields them from the psychological and emotional burdens that accompany knowledge.
The phrase is often misused to justify avoiding unpleasant truths or staying uninformed. However, Gray’s sentiment is more nuanced. He suggests that there are moments where ignorance can be a kind of emotional protection, but this is not an endorsement of ignorance as a life philosophy. It is more of a melancholic observation on the inevitable loss of innocence that comes with maturity and wisdom. (unearnedwisdom.com)
Many of you like myself grew up in a much different world than our children and especially our grandchildren and even in some cases great grandchildren are growing up in. In our day, there was that sense of blissful ignorance. There were so many things we just didn’t know and had no idea we even should or could have known.
Today is actually too instantaneous a world to live in because we are “drinking from a fire hose”. Too much information, which can be good to have, but we are unable to process it. Have we then lost the ability and even the desire to hear someone out? Now I don’t think that I need to give a lot of time and consideration to some crazy idea or comment. Common sense tells me that it is wrong and should be rejected. Yet there then appears to be many today with no common sense. I don’t know what it is they are relying on in order to help them navigate life and all that is going on around them.
When I began this post I gave it a title “Deal With It”. That statement often has a negative connotation of just accept it and move on without regard for change. However, that was not my thought at the time nor is it now. Deal with it in that, make an effort to achieve change. Embrace opportunity to speak to and about other views. Simply know what you believe and believe in what you know. Will everyone change and come to your point of view, we’ll probably not. However, there are those who are watching and listening who could and will be affected by what you say and do.
in Matthew 5:13-26 NKJV Jesus said-
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Take the opportunities God provides to flavor and light the world around you and then deal with it.
In God’s Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy
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