We’ve all done it, I know that I have, and you always feel like such a complete dumbass when you do. What is that you ask? Pushing on the pull door. And don’t you even begin to tell me that you’ve never done it. You may not look like the cartoon above, but I’m certain that in some part of life, you’ve pushed the pull door.
So, what do I really mean, “Push the Pull Door”?
Look at it like this. In life, there is a certain way that things work. If you have a bad mood and take it out on your spouse, odds are, you’re going to get into a fight, or at the least, hurt their feelings. If you give all your money away, you WILL be poor. If you smile, people will think you are friendly. We all, instinctively know a lot of these things and follow them, most of the time. When we don’t, there are consequences that we face. From shame and embarrassment, to injury and true heart ache.
The funny thing is; it doesn’t matter how smart you are or how dumb you are, how rich you are or how poor you are, how beautiful you are or how ugly you are. The rules of Life will apply to you, the same as they apply to everyone else.
It almost seems to be human nature to forget or challenge the rules of Life. Either that or we are simply wired to press the boundaries that we have. Don’t get me wrong, I think that pushing the boundaries is an essential part of life. I believe that Life’s boundaries are different for everyone. Oh sure, some stay constant for everyone, like the rule that says you are not able to fly on your own yet. But I don’t think that rule will always hold and we will never know that it’s moved if we don’t push.
The people that push Life’s boundaries are our modern day adventurers. Our explorers and our questors. Sadly, the time that we live in right now has a dearth of such people. Where did they all go? I think I can answer that question easily. We now live in a society that is plagued by fear. We are inundated with all the fear mongering that money and governments can buy. We are told that no one is safe outside anymore and that you are in danger even in your own house. But if you act now, you can get this state of the art security system that will incinerate anyone trying to break in. Plus free installation, all for just $1995.99! You see…fear sells. The businesses know it, the media knows it, the government knows it. It seems that the only ones who don’t know it…is us. We buy right into it and let the fear mongerers exercise an incredible amount of control on our lives.
I know what you’ll say…Yes; there is danger in our world today. But, believe it or not, there was danger in it when everyone was a kid too. And even though my parents didn’t put me in a 5-point harness and lock me inside the house at all times, I actually survived long enough to be an adult and parent too. You did too apparently. :-) I’m not telling you to check the ol brain out completely, just use a bit of your brain to realistically evaluate what you see and hear. And, for goodness sake, look to the motivation of the person speaking to you. Think for yourself, it’s a rule of Life that many forget.
Let me help you with that. It says pull for a reason. C’mon, let’s walk in through the door together and see what Life has to offer us.
1 comment:
Interesting.
Yes, there was danger when you were a kid. However, it was multiple of magnitudes less than what exists today.
Just because you and I survived that relatively benign time I'm thinking that it is probably a disservice to the thousands who die simply because we weren't smart enough to figure out what precautions to take.
There is such a think as situation blindness - and in some ways I think this qualifies.
As for the 'explorer spirit'. Really I thin it has little to do with fear and everything to do with the evolution of society. The explorers were faced with large pieces of unexplored land and a very unstructured society in which it was possible to wander and pick up work only when you need it. There weren't any special skills needed to explore most of the time, no training or education - just the ability to put one foot in front of the other and somehow be one of th elucky ones who survived.
Our modern world has a very reduced amount of exploration (the sea and space are out there still as are some undiscovered parts of certain third world continents - but that might be a stretch with all the deforestation these days) and what is left requires specific training and education to tackle.
However, interesting thoughts as always
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