On the Jukebox: "That Thing You Do" by the Wonders
Quote: "It's okay, I got some cool cheese." ~ Lizzie McGuire Movie
Flair: Patience
Have you ever tried to enlighten someone who was not mentally capable of grasping your brilliant idea? Welcome to my world. Until a couple of years ago I labored under the false belief that I was of average intelligence and that most people were blessed with an equal share of common sense and critical thinking skills. I chalked it up to laziness or lack of priorities when others failed to get good grades or get their work done on time. It seemed so straight forward to me - a no brainer if you will.
Fast forward to my college years and a new concept starts to take focus: I am a genius and most people are idiots. This was an eye opening revelation for me. I suddenly realized that what I took for granted was difficult for others to comprehend. This included things both academic and spiritual. I suddenly realized that I was suppose to help these people. I tried to do this simply by example but they weren't paying attention. It's sort of like Plato's cave. They were content with shadows and never turned around to see the source of the light and movement. I am a Prometheus bring fire to the mortals. Maybe that's why I enjoy the Prometheus and Bob series so much.
I've had plenty of misadventures in trying to educate others. I have a young acquaintance who is a stripper with no sense of cultural beauty. She had a school assignment to analyze poetry. I tried to help her out with that but she couldn't progress past dirty limericks to the sublime joys of Cummings, Frost, Keats, Tennyson, or Wordsworth. I've had similar experiences with young women (when I was a leader) as I tried to expose them to Mozart, Enya, and Amiche. I have a friend who constantly seeks my advice on relationships and other life matters but never applies the wisdom I impart. She's simply not capable of learning from her mistakes and continually repeats them. A former male coworker was pretty much the same, but he at least pretended to do the counseling homework assignments I gave him.
There's a lesson to be learned from all of this. One for you and one for me. First, if you ask my opinion on what color to paint your walls be prepared to at least consider it with an open mind. I've had some training in that area. In return I'll prepare myself to give you another dozen options and expect you to reject them all... Second, I'll prepare myself to continue to answer every question that you're too lazy to research or learn about for yourself. In return I'll exact my revenge by refusing to be your lifeline when you're on a trivia gameshow. If I wanted the world to know how much I know I'd probably go on one of those shows myself!
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