Playing Dress-Up
"Common sense is
genius dressed up in work clothes."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
(1803-1882)
American Philosopher/Writer
When my
grandkids come over they always love to play dress up. We have several old costumes we got on sale
that we keep in a cabinet for them. My
wife has kept old jewelry and trinkets that they love to put on. Once all dressed up, they pretend to be the
people (or animal) they look like. It is
great fun for kids. Grown-ups like to
pretend they are people they aren't as well.
At those times it is not so much fun, for them or the people they are
trying to deceive.
We have all met these
people. They are the ones who pretend
they are something they are not, smarter than they are and more impressive than
they need to be. You can ask them a
simple question and you get a long involved answer. I have a friend who after encountering a
person like this he said, "If you ask him for the time he will tell you
how to build a watch."
I think that this most apparent
among those who tend to lack what can be called common sense. They are so concerned with impressing those
around them that they complicate theirs and everyone else's life. There is no real reason other than they want
to feel important. Nothing gets done and
no one is any wiser than before they came into the picture.
So, how does a success-minded
person keep from becoming such a person?
Oh yes, we can all be in danger of being the bore of the party. We all long for the feeling of importance and
significance. The key is to use that
all powerful weapon that we all possess - common sense.
Nothing can make people stand up
and take notice more than a person who can give simple common s sense answers
to every day questions. It is not hard
to do. Common sense is an example of
good character and a person of integrity.
It comes from looking at life with priorities, truth, right, and good.
The Truth
Truth never need
explaining. Truth is truth and it is
never shaded gray, or compromised. Many
today think that truth is up to the person thinking about it. That in itself is a lie and away from the
truth. When a person knows, accepts and
speaks the truth, they will always be respected and listened to by those who
seek the truth. Truth is simple and
never, never changes.
The Right
Everyone, and I mean everyone
knows right from wrong. Fools will try
to explain away the right or declare that wrong is right, however, we all know
the difference. The simple fact of
common sense is the act of doing what is right.
That is all there is to it.
Success-minded people know that wrong is never right and that by doing
right we never have to fear the consequence of the wrong.
The Good
Here is one of the most dangerous
mistakes in our society. We have chosen
to not recognize evil for what it is.
There is good and there is evil in this world. There are also good people and evil
people. Don't buy into this thinking
that all of us are basically good. Look
around and see that there is evil everywhere.
The best defiance against evil is to first recognize it. The greatest victory over evil is to do
good. Again, it is that simple.
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